Stuck With You
by Opal12
Summary: Shohoku, Ryonan, Shoyo and Kainan are all in the same boat cruise, courtesy of their coaches. But their dream vacation turns awry when their boat sinks..RuHana, SenKosh, MitKo, FujiHana, JinKiyo, RyoAya...CHAP 12 UP!
1. Chapter 1: The Surprise

Stuck With You

By

Opal12

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue. So don't sue please! As for the use of some scenes in Titanic and Cast Away, ( in the upcoming chapters) I give credit to the directors also.

Warning: Shonen-ai or Yaoi and OOCness ( I can't write lemons or limes).

A/N: This is my first fic. Pls. read and review!

'thoughts' "dialogues"

* * *

Friday 6:00 PM, Shohoku Gym

Another day in Shohoku High. Seeing that his boys were working hard and improving more and more, Coach Anzai had an idea. 'My boys need a break. All work and no play makes a basketball player too temperamental. Speaking of which…' he mused, as he watched Sakuragi and Rukawa bicker for the nth time that day. So without further ado, he called a travel agency. Meanwhile at the same time, the coaches of Ryonan, Kainan and Shoyo were doing the same.

"Hai. I want tickets for a 7-day boat cruise. There's one two days from now? Hai. That would be excellent. Arigato."

"Teme Kitsune! Will you stop calling me do'aho! I'm the Tensai! No one insults me!" said Hanamichi angrily.

"Hn. Whatever do'aho." replied Rukawa.

"You want to fight!"

"…." 'Ignore just ignore…' sighed Rukawa inwardly.

"Teme! I'm talking to you! Why I'm gonna…"

Akagi cut in. "YAMERO! Stop wasting our time and practice already! Inter-High is only months away!"

"But Gori!"

Akagi promptly banged him in the head. He won't take any crap from freshmen, especially from a loudmouth redhead.

"Who you calling gori! Baka!"

"Hohohoho. Calm down boys. I have great news. You all worked so hard for the past few months so I figured that you boys need a well-deserved break. Since school is out for the next week, I booked the whole team for a 7-day boat cruise. It's on Sunday 7:00 AM sharp. How's that?"

Silence. Then………..

"WOOOOOHOOOO! YEAH!" came the deafening reply.

"Alright!" hooted Mitsui happily. 'This is my chance. I'll tell Min-kun what I really feel about him. This will be so great…' the three-pointer thought. He grinned.

'Yes! Thank you kami-sama! I'll be with Ayako for a whole week! Aya-chan….' mused Miyagi. 'All those offerings at the temple finally paid off!' (sweatdrop)

Rukawa stood impassive, but his brain was churning out plans for Hanamichi. 'Seven days without Akagi's sister hanging around. Perfect.' his eyes glinting.

'Hoo boy. I think I'll need an extra fan for this trip.' The manageress looked at the dazed group, who were still mulling over their hidden agendas. 'Yeah. I am really gonna need it.'

Sakuragi grabbed Coach Anzai and started tugging at his chin again. "Nyahahaha! Oyaji! You finally admitted the Tensai's ability! What took you so long to realize that? Nyahahahaha!"

"Maa maa Sakuragi. Please stop bouncing Anzai-sensei's chin." pleaded Kogure. Seeing his request fell on deaf ears, he sighed and gave up. He glanced at the three-pointer. 'Wonder what Mitsui is thinking? He looks cute staring into space…..Nani? Where did that come from?' he blushed.

Akagi felt a migraine coming. He shook his head. 'Oh well. We've been working too hard. I guess a vacation won't hurt. I'm getting soft…' Pushing that thought away, he bellowed "Okay people. Practice is over for today. I'm going to cancel practice tomorrow so you can all pack your stuff for Sunday. Be there exactly at 7:00 AM at Pier 40. Understand?"

"HAI! ARIGATO ANZAI-SENSEI!"

"Hohohohoho." chuckled the coach, amused.

* * *

To be continued….

Opal12: So how was it? Good? Bad? Totally crappy? Pls. Review! No flames please! Akagi is so OOC ne? Can't believe I made him cancel practice. Pigs must be flying in Kanagawa. So is Coach Anzai….


	2. Chapter 2:Packing

A/N: Thank you for all of those who reviewed, namely Crescent Quetzalcoatl, cris, Kenren19 and frozenfemale. I really appreciate it!

_**'thoughts' "dialogues"**_

Chap 2: Packing

* * *

9:00 PM Saturday: Sakuragi Residence 

"Aaaaargh! Why won't this stupid suitcase close! Damn it!"

The redhead tried sitting on it but to no avail. Why would it be, since he packed all his junk…errr.. precious possessions into the poor luggage. Not giving up, he jumped on it. Success!

"There! Now the Tensai is all prepared! Nyahahahaha!"

* * *

Rukawa's House 

'What to pack…what to pack…aw hell, just dump all my clothes and get it over with. I need my sleep.'

After unceremoniously dumping his stuff in a heap in his sports bag, he promptly went to la-la land complete with chibi red-head do'ahos playing basketball.

* * *

Mitsui's Bachelor Pad 

'Must look good for Min-kun…gotta have all the accessories. Cool hat, shades, boxers (drool!) …I reckon that boat has a pool. I wonder if I'll see Min-kun topless? I'll get a nosebleed….note to self: buy lots of tissues, the 4-ply kind.' (sweatdrop)

* * *

Point Guard Miyagi's Place 

'Aya-chan, I'll bring all your pictures so I can hang them in my room….'

Miyagi's stroller was overflowing with pictures. The essence of packing is lost to this guy. Maybe like clothing?

'Looks like I need another bag….I haven't packed my clothes yet. Ehehehehe.'

* * *

Kogure's Abode 

"I need sunscreen since skin cancer is high nowadays, my physics textbook, my English textbook, blah blah blah…."

* * *

Gori's Room 

'I wonder if there is a basketball court there. Being in a boat doesn't mean there will be no practice! I'll bring this just in case.' (sweatdrop)

* * *

Ayako's House 

"Hmm. Five paper fans should be enough.'

* * *

7:00 AM Sunday: Pier 40 

All of the Shohoku basketball members were gathered at their meeting place. Ayako was taking roll call.

"Everyone here?" said Akagi.

"Anou sempai, Rukawa's not here yet." stated Ayako, looking around.

Veins in Akagi's head popped suit.

"I'm sure he wouldn't miss this vacation Akagi." assured Kogure.

"THAT BAKA!"

"Nyahahaha! The Kitsune must've forgotten to wake up again! Not like me, because I'm the Ten-AARGH!" howled Sakuragi, Rukawa's bike hitting him from behind.

"Speaking of the devil…" snickered Mitsui.

"Why you no-good Kitsune! I'm gonna..." said Hanamichi, grabbing Rukawa to punch him.

Apparently, Rukawa's still asleep even after he crashed into the redhead. How he managed to cycle all the way from his house to Pier 40 in one piece remains a mystery.

"Hey Hanamichi, if you meet any girls there you will tell us right?" said Noma winking cheekily.

"Yeah, so we'll know if we need to celebrate if you got dumped again!" laughed Takamiya. Ooksu guffawed.

"What did you say Buta!" yelled Hanamichi. He grabbed all of his three friends and gave them each a headbutt.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"ITAAAIIIIII!"

Yohei tried to appease the angry redhead. "Maa maa Sakuragi. I'm sure you won't get dumped this time."

"Of course! I'm one good-looking Tensai! Nyahahahaha!"

Sweatdrop.

'Yeah right…'

"Listen, we need to go now. We have to be early at the Pachinko Parlor so we can get past the guards. Have fun minna-san!" waved Yohei, dragging his three friends still sprawled on the ground.

"Bon voyage! Hope your boat doesn't sink!" hooted Takamiya. Noma and Ooksu grinned.

"Heh! You guys are just jealous!" yelled Hanamichi back.

* * *

Ryonan's POV 

'Can't believe that Taoka-sensei gave us a free boat cruise. Our defeat in the elimination must've hit him hard. He is off his rockers! Yeah, that must be the reason… not that I'm complaining….' thought Uozumi. For once he looked forward to a week without basketball.

'Hmph. We should be practicing right now! What am I supposed to do for the next seven days! Not to mention I'm with hentai Sendoh. He better keep his hands to himself..' frowned Koshino. He looked at the boat with distaste.

"Must check…must check…," mumbled Hikoichi.

'I hope the food is good here.' thought Fukuda.

'Hiro-kun, you looks so cute when you pout…hey is that Hanamichi?' wondered Sendoh, spotting the loudmouth. 'That's strange….the whole Shohoku team is here. Even Rukawa.'

"Still sleeping Rukawa?" Sendoh joked.

Rukawa glared at him.

'I see he is still an ice block with legs.' smiled Sendoh. "Hello minna-san! What brings you here?"

* * *

Shoyo's POV 

'I wonder why Fujima wanted a boat cruise. Maybe this whole going- out- to- sea-thing has something to do with basketball again.' thought Hangata. He was worried of Fujima's behavior lately.

Being a curious person, he asked the question that has been bugging him for the past few days.

"Ah Fujima? Is this cruise somehow connected to our uh…loss to Shohoku?"

A flash of sadness crossed Fujimas' eyes.

'You know me too well.' thought Fujima wryly. "Partly yes. But I have other reasons."

"Oh? What reasons then? You can tell me." wheedled the tall center.

"Don't worry yourself too much. It's okay." said Fujima gently. 'You'll know soon.'

"Okay. But no keeping of secrets from me, promise?"

Fujima smiled. "Hai. I promise Toru-kun"

'Toru-kun?' wondered Hanagata, turning red. He saw Hasegawa running towards them.

"Sempais! You won't believe this! Ryonan and Shohoku are here!"

* * *

Kainan's POV 

"Hurry up Kiyota! Jin, get a move on!" barked Maki, motioning for them to walk faster.

"Coming!" said Jin, out of breath.

"You don't know much about packing light do you?" grinned Kiyota. Jin groaned.

"I do. It's just that my mother insisted on bringing half of my closet. She's afraid I might catch a cold or something. I couldn't say no." said Jin, shrugging.

"I'll help you with that. You look worn out already. Eeep! I see why. Your bag weighs a ton!"

"Thanks." mumbled Jin, getting uncomfortable from Kiyota's attention.

"Cut the chat you two! Coach will get mad if we miss this trip!" said Maki impatiently.

"Hai sempai. We wouldn't want that." sniggered Kiyota. 'He always breaks his fan in half if he gets upset. Hehe.'

Jin looked at the people crowding at the pier. "Maki-san, those guys look very familiar…"

Maki's jaw hit the ground with a thud.

"Red-haired monkey!" exclaimed Kiyota.

* * *

"Still sleeping Rukawa?" came a teasing tone. 'That annoying voice ..….oh no kami-sama, this can't be happening'... Rukawa instantly came to life and glared. 

"Sendoh."

"Hello minna-san! What brings you here?" said the Ryonan's ace, flashing his trademark smile.

Akagi's eyes bugged out. "Uozumi!"

"Akagi! Why the hell are you here?" said Uozumi, incredulous.

Then came Shoyo and Kainan. To say they were surprised is an understatement. They were downright shocked.

"NANI?"

* * *

To be continued…. 

Opal: Gomen if it's a bit dragging, but some of their conversations will play a part in the later chapters. I also didn't include some of the minor players because I don't know what I will do with them. I'll just spare them the torture of being marooned. So there are only 3 ppl in Shoyo and 3 in Kainan. Hope you understand.

Pls. REVIEW :puppy dog eyes:


	3. Chapter 3: Flabbergasted

Chapter 3: Flabbergasted

A/N: Thank you guys and gals again for the kind reviews! Namely Kenren19, ll jayne ll anime-luverjc and Artemis Obscure. Hope you like this!

* * *

8:00 AM Sunday

People passing by stopped in their tracks and stared. Not only were there really tall dudes crowding the pier, all of them were making a racket by talking and yelling at the same time. Good thing Ayako got over the shock quickly, or else the boat would've heaved-ho without them.

"Hold it people! Before we continue, let's get on the boat first shall we?" said Ayako.

"Aya-chan! You're so smart!" said Miyagi.

WHACK!

"I said get on the boat baka!"

"Hai hai…"

On the boat….

"Now would someone explain why the heck all of us are here? I wanted my team to get away from basketball for once, but all of you guys showed up!" grumbled Fujima.

"Oh yeah? I want my team to unwind too! You think we are happy with this?" retorted Maki, eyeing all of the other teams suspiciously.

Uozumi glared back. "Well we can't do anything about it now. Unless someone's team volunteer to throw themselves overboard."

"Go ahead Uozumi. We won't stop you." replied Akagi, motioning for him to jump into the sea.

"Akagi…." growled Uozumi, the veins in his head throbbing furiously.

Sparks were flying and the air was thick with tension. It looked like there was going to be a brawl…sane people around them were running away looking for cover. Others, (the not-so-sane-ones like Sakuragi, Kiyota, Mitsui and Miyagi) were egging them on.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Sakuragi added his two cents in. " Oi Benchwarmer, do you have a death wish or something? You're no match with two Gorillas and Senior! Nyahahahaha!" he yelled.

The four captains gave him evil looks. "HEY! WE RESENT THAT!"

Then came the Harisen of Doom.

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

"Urusai! War freaks!" scolded Ayako.

"ITAIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

"Aya-chan! You don't love me anymore! Waaaaahhh!" bawled Miyagi, with tears coming down like buckets.

"Your waterworks won't work on me again baka!" said Ayako, raising again her harisen.

Kogure sweat dropped. "Maa maa minna-san. We are supposed to be enjoying this cruise. Besides, it's just coincidental that all of our schools have a week long vacation at the same time and we all ended up in the same boat. Our coaches' intentions were good."

That seems to calm down the four would-be violent captains considerably. Trust it to Kogure to be a peacemaker always.

'Min-kun….what a guy….' sighed Mitsui. He looked at Kogure with admiration.

Ryota sniffed. 'Aya-chan….. You're so cruel….but I still love you…..'

While Mitsui and Ryota were gazing at their respective crushes, Hanamichi was busy chatting, or rather insulting the people in rival teams.

"Oi Smiley! Why are you still happy even after I've beaten you? Aha! That's it! You're spying on the Tensai! You've come to steal his secrets! You can't because I'm a Tensai! Nyahahahahaha!"

"What did you say baka? You were never a Tensai in the first place!" said Koshino scathingly.

"Why you Shorty!"

"That's right! I'm the Super Rookie! Bwahahahaha!" butted in Kiyota

"Nani! No you're not! You're a wild monkey!" shouted Hanamichi.

"Big talk coming from you, your team is only second to us!" Kiyota yelled back.

"At least our captain doesn't look like he's gonna go to a retirement home soon! Nyahahahaha!" laughed Hanamichi, greatly vexing his fellow monkey.

"Don't you dare insult Maki-sempai! He is just seventeen years old!"

"He looks much much older to me! Like seventy? Nyahahahaha!"

"Hn. Do'ahos." muttered Rukawa all of a sudden.

"NANI!"

"Whatever." said Rukawa and walked away.

"Man they're noisy." observed Fukuda.

Hasegawa nodded. "You said it."

Sendoh, watching the so-called intelligent banter between the two freshmen, tried hard to suppress his laughter. 'Aaawww, Hiro-kun is actually standing up for me! Looks like this vacation wouldn't be boring after all.' thinking that wonderful thought, he smirked.

Meanwhile….

"Ohayou Kogure-sempai, Hanagata-sempai!" greeted Jin, smiling at the two bespectacled seniors.

"Ohayou!" greeted Kogure and Hanagata back.

"It's weird isn't it? The best four basketball teams in Kanagawa all in the same boat." said the Kainan three-pointer casually.

"Yes. Who would have thought?" Kogure grinned.

"Did you guys catch a glimpse of the name of this boat? It's called Titanic II. I thought I was hallucinating or something." intervened Hanagata.

"Hai Hanagata-san. It is called Titanic II. I wonder why it sounds familiar…" wondered Jin. He looked at the two for an answer.

"Is that….? Kogure sweat dropped.

"Oh my…." gulped Hanagata.

"OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Time stopped for the second time that day. The outburst of the three was so long and loud it even roused Rukawa awake again.

'Hn. More do'ahos. Why am I surrounded by them? I need my sleep.' groused Rukawa, stuffing his fingers in his ears.

Hikoichi ran towards them. "Ohayou sempais! Is something wrong? Why were you shrieking?" 'Must check! Must check!' the shorter boy asked innocently, pen and notebook in hand.

Seeing it's the famous stool pigeon of Kanagawa himself, they quickly made up a fib. With volatile and hot-tempered teammates around, who knows what will happen?

"Ahehehehe. Iye, nothing's wrong." stuttered Hanagata, looking nervously at Jin.

Jin nodded. "Yes everything is fine Hikoichi."

"We were shriek.. ..I mean shouting because we are so excited! We're all here like one big happy family!" 'Darn, that's got to be the stupidest lie I ever said." grimaced Kogure.

Hanagata and Jin sweat dropped.

Hikoichi didn't look convinced at all. "Whatever you say sempais…." He left.

Kogure waited for Hikoichi to be out of earshot. "That was close."

"What are we going to do? What are we going to do!" Jin was nearly hysterical.

"Calm down Jin. Look at me. It's just a coincidence. Okay? Alright?" said Kogure seriously, hiding his doubt. 'Hmm, this day is full of coincidences. I'm getting freaked out also.' the vice-captain thought.

Hanagata still had a worried look. "Ehehehehe. Let's just hope and pray that this ship doesn't follow its predecessor to its watery grave ne?

'It's just a coincidence. It's just a coincidence. It's just a coincidence.' Kogure berated himself, lost in thought.

"Hellow Kogure? Kogureeeeh" said Hanagata softly, waving his hands in Kogure's face.  
"Still with us? Earth to Kogure!" yelled Hanagata.

'Just a coincide…' "YOW! What did you do that for?" said Kogure, rubbing his ear.

"You were mumbling nonsense sempai." pointed out Jin.

Kogure blushed. "Oh! Gomen.."

"Let's just forget about it. Let's keep our cool for the sake of our teammates." stated Hanagata firmly.

"Hai hai." nodded the other two, but still didn't look fully convinced.

Hanagata sighed. "Yare yare. Let's just ask the el Capitan of this ship if this boat is safe and stable and why he gave this boat an inauspicious name. I'm sure he has a valid reason."

Bad move you three.

* * *

To be continued………..

Opal: Can you guys guess who will sink this boat? Hehehehehe. As for Ayako, she's pretty mean to Ryota in this chapter. Gomen to all Ryochin's fans!

Ryota: "Opal, why do you do this to me?"

Opal: "Sorry, but I had to do it….ehehehehe"

Ayako: "I wouldn't have whapped you two times if you didn't encourage the 4 captains to have a fistfight in public."

Sakuragi, Mitsui & Kiyota: "HEY! WHAT ABOUT US?"

Ayako: "Urusai! You three deserved it."

Sakuragi, Mitsui & Kiyota:grumbles:

Ryota: "Gomen Aya-chan I won't do it again. Forgive me?"

Ayako:blush nods:

Opal: "Okay people! REVIEW or else :smirk: Or you'll get slapped by my Harisen of Doom! Bwahahahaha :cough cough: Pls.?" :puppy dog eyes:


	4. Chapter 4: So called Perfect Day

Chapter 4: So-called Perfect Day

Disclaimer: Any of the products or brands mentioned in this fanfic are not mine. They belong to their respective owners/companies. I'd put the trademark thingy but I don't know how. Sorry 'bout that.

Warning: OOCness, yelling, screaming, and some mild language.

A/N: I'm sorry for the late update, my server is really not cooperating with me for the past 2 weeks. As you can all see, I switched from dialogue to narrative. So it will be a little weird, with the drastic changes and all that (and my first time to write this way, fyi). Just trying my best to make it better! Thank you for all those who reviewed! Namely ll jayne ll, Hagane, anime-luverjc, frozenfemale, chris, Crescent Quetzalcoatl, annedrew, ayu, Artemis Obscure and tensai 2003-3003/hanako.

To jayne: Hope you find your "books" soon. Gambatte! Lol

To all those who prefer errr, other pairings and other preferences for gender, I'm sorry but this is, and WILL ALWAYS BE a RuHana, MitKo, SenKosh, FujiHana(gata), KiyoJin from the beginning till end. No one will switch, steal or dump one for the other. Capeesh? Peace.

Rukawa: "Yeah! Leave my Hana alone!"

Opal: "Possessive aren't you?"

Rukawa: "Only with my do'aho"

Opal: "Hai hai….geez!"

To delirum86 and frozenfemale, here you go!

'thoughts' "dialogues"

* * *

It was Sunday morning and the weather was perfect. There's not a cloud to be seen and the sky was bluer than ever (is that possible? I dunno, just work with me k? ). The ship was nothing short of magnificent. It was painted white all over, and it was so clean and shiny that it glistened in the morning sun, a stark contrast to the dark blue water it floats on. Not to mention it was gigantic, ten football fields can fit nicely in it.

"Wow, this ship is so huge! How are we going to find one person here?" said Jin, totally amazed by the sheer size of the boat.

"At least we get to explore around. Look, there's a tennis court, 3 swimming pools, a basketball court and even a mini athletics field." said Hanagata excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.

"Don't look now but it looks like our captains are tearing up the basketball court." said Kogure. He sweatdropped. 'Even in the middle of the ocean they still live and breathe basketball' he mused.

The three watched with interest at the game, highly amused at the 4 captains. They were clearly showing off again their skills to one another, and they were displaying it not only physically, but also verbally (think Kiyota and Sakuragi). Gone were the mature, calm and dignified personalities they displayed at the IH eliminations a few weeks ago.

"Ha! You can't get by me so easily!" said Uozumi gleefully, while guarding the Shoyo point guard.

"Yeah? Watch me!" said Fujima, while deftly eluding Boss Ape.

"Too late pretty boy!" shouted Maki as he swiftly grabbed the ball from Fujima's hands, and ran towards the other side of the court.

"Don't call me that!" Fujima half- growled, half- yelled at the MVP.

"See if you can pass me Maki. Or should I say Senior?" said Akagi, fighting back a chuckle.

Maki blinked and stared at Akagi open-mouthed. 'Since when did he have a sense of humor?' Quickly he composed himself. "I didn't know you became as obnoxious as Sakuragi." he shot back.

"Being with that baka almost everyday at school can do that to you." Akagi replied, shrugging.

'Good thing that monkey is not in my team. One Kiyota is enough." Maki thought. "Obnoxious or not, I'm still gonna beat you." He smirked as he said this. Then he grinned widely as he uttered the word that made Akagi's blood boil. "Gori."

"Quit it with the name calling will you?" said Fujima huffily.

"Yeah, we don't want our resident pretty boy to get upset now do we?" Uozumi butted in.

"FOR THE LAST TIME! DON'T CALL ME PRETTY BOY!" Fujima yelled, making the three wince.

' Geez, for a small guy he can scream so loud' they all thought.

Seeing that his numero uno amigo will go off like a bomb any second now, Hanagata quickly went to Fujima's side.

"Ne Fujima, would you like to take a break and go exploring with us?" asked Hanagata gently.

Kogure, Jin, Akagi, Maki and Uozumi were fidgeting nervously. They've never seen the Shoyo point guard get so angry before. Worked up because of a basketball match maybe, but mad? It was a scary sight.

Noticing it's his best friend, Fujima instantly forgot about the cause of his outburst and beamed. (wow that was fast ) " Sure! I'd love to go with you." Grabbing Hanagata's hand, he quickly walked away without a backward glance at the three.

Highly perplexed, Maki, Uozumi and Akagi could only gape at the moody Shoyo player's retreating figure. "What was that all about?" they said in unison. Heaving a sigh of relief, they resumed their heated game.

While the three, no make it four (including Fujima) were off to ask El Capitan as Hanagata put it, Rukawa was busy trying to fall asleep. But that was not so, since his archrival on and off court (if you know what I mean ) was just a few feet away from him. Giving up, he settled to glare at Sendoh. Again.

"Crap, just my dumb luck to be stuck with Sendoh for a week. I swear, if he pulls one stunt to steal my do'aho, I'm going to feed him to the sharks." muttered Rukawa, his lips setting into a thin line while clenching his fists.

'Funny, I feel that peculiar tingling in my spine again.' Sendoh mused. 'Oh it's Rukawa.' He walked over to him. "Hey Ru, what's up? Something you want to talk about?" he said, smiling sweetly.

"Yes. You." was the cold reply. Sendoh was taken aback. "What? What did I do?" protested Sendoh, but Rukawa cut him off rudely.

"Save it. Stay away from Hanamichi. He's mine. And don't call me Ru. Got that?" said Rukawa coldly, emphasizing each word.

"Since when? He hates your guts." retorted Sendoh coolly. He said it in such a way like it was a well-known fact that it stabbed Rukawa inside. "Soon." he whispered.

"What the hell is wrong with that guy? Honestly, I don't know why you even talk to him." muttered Koshino, annoyed.

Sendoh watched Rukawa walking away. 'Good luck Rukawa. You're gonna need it.'

* * *

"They've been going at it for an hour now. Won't these guys stop?" groaned Fukuda, looking at his watch.

Beside him, Hasegawa snorted. "I don't know about you, but I'm outta here. My ears need a break. Do you smell waffles?"

"Yeah I think so. Waffle's good." said Fukuda. "Hey Hikoichi! Wanna tag along?

"Hai sempais. I heard enough of Sakuragi-san's "Tensai" and Kiyota san's "Number 1 Rookie" rants to last me a lifetime." whispered Hikoichi. He grimaced.

"Right. Let's just leave them alone. With their mouths going a mile a minute, I bet they'll inhale all the food in this boat faster than Sakuragi can say "Tensai". Let's go." said Hasegawa softly.

With that they left, leaving the two oblivious and still bickering freshmen.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mitsui changed into his summer attire. He was wearing a white Hilfiger sleeveless top ( which fitted his upper body perfectly AND semi-transparent ), which showed off his well-defined pecs and abs, dark brown khaki shorts and black leather Birkenstock sandals. For the piece de resistance was a pair of platinum Killer Loop shades. Even in ordinary clothes, he looked like a model of GQ magazine.

Girls (and some guys) were drooling and having massive nosebleeds. They tried catching his eye, flirting, winking, posing, cartwheeling (geez!) and other aerobatics but Mitsui didn't give a hoot. He was busy scanning the crowd for his Megane. "Nani? Where is Min-kun? He was here a while ago." he mused, scratching his head. He looked at the swimming pools longingly. " I wanted to ask him to go for a swim with me. I better go look for him."

So off he went, turning heads as he passed by.

* * *

"Thanks for bringing my stuff Miyagi." said Ayako, as she arranged all her clothes into neat rows in her bedside drawer.

Miyagi blushed. He was not getting yelled at or whacked by THE FAN for once, and he was at the cabin of his beloved, making him more giddy and talkative than usual. "You know I'll do anything for you Aya-chan. I'll climb the highest mountain, I'll swim the deepest sea, I'll jump the highest valley, I'll….."

"Okay, okay I get it." said Ayako exasperated.

"Want to hear my love poems for you?" Miyagi asked hopefully. He didn't want Ayako to get mad again. Apparently, he was doing a fine job irritating her by his zealous adoration. The poor guy just can't take the hint.

"Maybe later Ryota." sighed Ayako.

"How about my latest love song about you?"

"………" 'I can't believe this guy…..'

"Okay, I'll sing it to you now! Oh my Ayakoooooooo..."

"How about I help you unpack your stuff?" cut in Ayako, desperate to change the subject.

"You will? You're so kind Aya-chan! Did I ever tell you're the kindest, most beautiful, most blah blah blah..." the point guard blabbered on, while walking towards his cabin.

Ayako opened Miyagi's stroller. She was greeted with more than a dozen pictures. The point guards luggage was overflowing with it. Now, if you were to see that, what would you do?

"NANI? WHERE DID YOU GET ALL THESE PICTURES OF ME?" Ayako bellowed.

"You're the smar...what?" Miyagi was out of his stupor, his eyes as big as saucers. " Yikes! Nothing to see here Aya-chan!" he said, trying valiantly trying to hide his pictures.

Ayako was livid. "THAT'S IT! I HAD IT WITH YOU RYOTA MIYAGI!"

"Did I ever tell you photography is one of my hobbies?"

"THIS IS NOT FUNNY RYOTA! OUT WITH IT! ARE YOU STALKING ME?" she shouted.

"I wouldn't call it stalking Aya-chan……" he replied weakly.

"WHAT THE HECK DO YOU CALL THIS THEN!

Miyagi was stunned, he couldn't say anything. Ayako was fuming and red with anger. "Aya-chan, I didn't mean to……I…..I.. " he tried to explain, but the manageress was already gone.

* * *

"Where could the captain of this ship be? We've been going around this boat the whole morning already" said Kogure.

"Maybe he's at the bathroom or something. Sea sickness?" Fujima joked. They all laughed. "Hey it could happen." They laughed louder.

"Do you think he'll take you guys seriously? No offense, but your question is pretty stupid." said Fujima.

"No question is stupid Fujima. It is stupid people who don't ask questions because they think it's stupid." said Hanagata lightly.

There was an awkward silence. Everyone was trying to decipher what the tall Shoyo player just said. "What?" the three asked in unison. "Forget it." sighed Hanagata. 'Can't a guy be philosophical for once? Geez.'

"Look I think that's the main control office. I'm sure the captain is in there." said Jin.

They hastily went inside, and lo and behold, the captain of the ship was there at the middle, steering the ship. He was a 50-something gentleman, and he held a regal aura. He was not a man to be messed with.

"Excuse me sir, but are you the captain of this ship?" Hanagata politely asked .

"Hai. I'm Capt. Mikiyasu Kiniro. May I help you gentlemen?" the captain asked stiffly.

Kogure was having second thoughts. He had the feeling that the captain has something….. odd about him that he can't put a finger on. But he won't turn back now. Might as well……"We wanted to ask why you named your ship Titanic II Capt. Mikiyasu." he said firmly, despite the growing dread in his gut.

* * *

To be continued…….

Opal: I know most of you are expecting that the boat will sink in this chapter. Gomen, but I didn't expect to turn out this long. I promise that will happen in the next chapter. As for the minor ones and the captains, I'm just giving them the limelight for once, before I give them the heave-ho. I realized now how hard it is to have more than 18 characters without leaving someone out. Whew! This is my longest yet!

Sakuragi & Kiyota: "You darn well did! What happened to us?"

Opal: "Hey, I did! I put "two bickering freshmen" there didn't I? Stop complaining!" "Oh I got great plans for you two…."

Sakuragi & Kiyota: "Uh oh I don't like that look….."

Opal: "As for the romance, not before I sink this boat! Bwahahaha!"

Sendoh: "Ne Opal, when are you going to write a lemon for me and Hiro-kun?"

Rukawa: "And Hana and me?"

Opal: "Hold your horses! How the heck am I supposed to write a lemon if the boat is sinking? Besides, I don't write that kind of stuff."

Rukawa:glare:

Sendoh:pout:

Opal: "Don't make me mad or else I'm gonna torture you with Hana and Hiro-kun."

Sendoh & Rukawa: "No! Anything but that!"

Opal: "Thought so."

Okay ppl! REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 5: The Crabby Captain

Chapter 5: The Crabby Captain

Warning: shrieking men, and mild language. But don't worry I censored them for innocent readers, and those who think they still are. lol.

A/N: Again, all mentioned brands/products are not mine. They belong to the blokes who invented them.

To anime-luverjc and vero: What! You want to sink already? I'm just starting to have fun….oh it will sink alright….heehee.

To chris: Darn! You have ESP or something? I'm sorely tempted to do that, but not in a way you imagined it to be. But two of them will try to do that though.

To hagane: Thank you for giving me your support, even if we fancy other pairings. I suggest you lessen your caffeine intake, but I have a couple of coupons of Starbucks for a free mocha malt frap if you want some. Caffeine withdrawal can be pretty nasty, 'specially to the noggin.

To Annachan: You do? Thanks! That really made my day.

To annedrew: No….I'm not going to drown any of them…that's too sadistic, don't you think? Arigato for the nice review!

To delirium86: Eeeek! I'm so sorry I forgot your birthday! Are you still pissed off at me? Please accept my peace offering, a singing duck e-card.

On with the fic, this ship will sink!

* * *

"We wanted to ask you why you named your ship Titanic II Capt. Mikiyasu."

Funny how only a few words can change the whole demeanor of a person, in this case, the captain. His round, wrinkled face turned white, then red, then purple in just a few seconds (it would've made a chameleon proud). There was a big vein popping out of his forehead, not unlike Akagi's, when Sakuragi is fooling around at practice.

Alarmed, Kogure quickly went into his peace-mode (which can soothe even the most savage beasts, e.g. Sakuragi & Akagi) to calm the now-magenta faced captain. "Gomen if we made you upset. We're just curious, that's all, we didn't mean to offend you Capt. Mikiyasu-san." he said hurriedly.

"Damn well I have reasons!" the captain said hotly, ignoring Kogure's pleading voice.

The rest of the people inside, however, were unperturbed by the ruckus their superior was making. Apparently they were quite used to the old man having tantrums all the time so they just ignored him and went about their business.

"Follow me!" he barked, beckoning the four to come with him. They all cast frightened looks at him, wary of what he might do to them. Like a bunch of unsure pre-schoolers at the first day of school, they reluctantly complied.

'What is he going to do? Throw us at the brig, lock it, then throw away the key?' thinking that horrible thought, Jin shuddered.

'Heeheee. He should apply as a human traffic light….what! Why am I laughing! But I can't help it….' the Shoyo point guard reprimanded himself to be serious but lost it, breaking into a silent fit of giggles, shoulders shaking slightly. Hanagata looked at him oddly.

'Just our luck we get a very crabby captain. Come to think of it, that's pretty funny… a crabby captain..' he looked at Fujima giggling to himself. He snickered, as he pictured the old man looking like a hermit crab.

'Maybe he's going to keel-haul us like those awful men do at pirate movies….or throw us overboard….' mused Kogure, his head full of nasty situations. But his train of thought was cut off when the infuriated captain halted abruptly in his walk and turned to face them.

"You want to know why I named this ship Titanic II? Look around you gentlemen. The answer is right in front of you. But since your generation is famed to be abysmally lacking of brains….." he emphasized the latter part of his speech, much to the chagrin of Kogure, Jin, Hanagata and Fujima. He continued, "I have no choice but to expound more on the subject, do I?" said Capt. Mikiyasu sarcastically.

* * *

"Where did everybody go?" asked Hanamichi. He fell silent. He was getting tired of yapping his trap. (Hana: What the hell! You made me sound like I'm a dog! Grrrrrrr…. Opal: You're growling right now. I rest my case.) Not to mention his stomach was making a lot of funny sounds. Kiyota, not missing a beat, noticed immediately.

"Hey red-haired monkey, your insides are trying to get out! What've you got there, a pooch? Bwahahahaha!" as he said this, his stomach too gave a distinct rumble.

"You should talk! You sound like you just swallowed a lawnmower! Nyahahahaha!" Hanamichi retorted.

Sure enough, Kiyota's innards were making a great impersonation of a stubborn lawnmower being gunned over and over. Both freshmen were making a riot again, though this time not with their mouths, but with their digestive organs. Each wants to reign supreme over the other, growling and rumbling like a bizarre hybrid of a rabid dog and lawn equipment. If one listens closely (but who would be foolish enough to do so? ) you could almost hear "Feed me baka! Feed meeeeee!"

"Hehe. I forgot to eat breakfast this morning." admitted Kiyota, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Me too. I think I smell waffles." Hanamichi grinned. "Let's take a break and continue later ne? Our stomachs need attending to! Nyahahahaha!"

"For once, I agree with you Sakuragi. Let's go." said Kiyota gleefully.

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain Shohoku point guard was contemplating to bite the dust earlier than expected. He was leaning on the side rail, looking forlornly at the sea. There was no one in sight. He lost the only girl he truly loved to what? A bunch of pictures.

'Life really is not fair. Is it a crime to love her so much? he sniffed. 'I never saw her so angry with me like that before. I hate myself! Why Kami-sama? Why? Do you hate me so much?' he sniffed again, his tears flowing freely down his cheeks and mixing with the salty water below. He didn't bother to wipe them. He didn't care if someone saw him as a wussy crybaby. (Ryota: Nani! Say that again!) Without Ayako, life for him didn't matter anymore.

He climbed on the railing, his legs wobbling slightly. 'The ocean is so beautiful, like her. Too bad I can't see her again. Sayonara Ayako……' He would've flung himself straight away after that if he didn't look down. Way down. It looked so far away…..Miyagi never had a fear for heights. But seeing it was a very long drop, it made him reconsider. Feeling like a complete idiot, he jumped again on hard ground. "Oh well, there are other fish in the sea…"

* * *

"This ship is one of the biggest in the world. It has the state-of-the-art technology, the best of its kind. You can find anything here, as you can see, it has all the facilities of human comfort and leisure. This boat can blah, blah, yadda, yadda……" the captain ranted on.

The four were clearly bored stiff. It's taking all their willpower to stay awake…..they wanted to leave, but so as not to be rude they stayed and listened. Or maybe because the prospect of the old man getting cranky on them again glued them on the spot. Then Sakuragi and Kiyota entered the scene.

"Ohayou sempais! Do you know where we can find a cafeteria or restaurant here?" called out Kiyota.

"Yes, there's one at the end of the other side. I'll accompany you there." said Jin, smiling at the freshmen.

"Excuse me, but I'm not finished with my explanation. You asked for it, and you're going to get it. You are not permitted to leave." said the captain curtly.

Jin turned red with embarrassment. "Sorry Capt. Mikiyasu." he said quietly.

"Since when did you bec… OW!" exclaimed Kiyota, rubbing his left side. Jin jabbed him at the ribs before he could finish. Getting the point, he quickly shut his mouth and settled to give the captain a dirty look.

Fortunately, the captain chose to ignore him.

"So as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted…." said Capt. Mikiyasu, his face more purple than ever.

But he was cut off again, this time by the loud redhead. "Oi oyaji! Are you sure this ship will not sink? What if you hit an iceberg or something? Nyahahaha!" said Hanamichi, his infamous laugh irritating the captain further. The rest stared at him with incredulous looks etched at their faces. They couldn't believe that Sakuragi was actually familiar in modern history, much less the name of the boat.

"Shhhh Sakuragi. Stop it now please!" pleaded Kogure, tugging at the redhead's shirt.

"No, no glasses man. I want to know." Hanamichi's tone was serious now. "It was said in the movie it was the safest boat of its time. But still it sunk. How can you be so sure captain?"

"Of course it will not sink you idiot boy! There are no icebergs near Japan or anywhere near the equator! This ship is unsinkable, exactly like the original but without its flaw! It is perfect! PERFECT!" the captain roared, not taking it anymore. He was gesticulating wildly, his arms flapping like a chicken wanting to take flight.

All of them, except Sakuragi, were trying their very best not to fall down laughing at the captain's obvious discomfort. The redhead was still looking expectantly at the old man, waiting for an answer.

Capt. Mikiyasu was speechless for once. He was being defied and mocked even, by teenagers. "So you want me prove it is unsinkable?" he asked in a cold, eerily calm voice. "I'll show you all." he sneered, then walked away, back to the main control office.

* * *

On the other hand, Rukawa was busy looking for a place to lie down and sleep. Spotting a comfortable recliner near one of the swimming pools, he made a beeline for it. 'Can't believe I'm awake so early in a Sunday morning….things I do for that do'aho…where is he anyway….Zzzzzzzzz….' after only a few seconds, he's knocked out.

* * *

"I'll show them! Insolent brats, they think they now everything! Cocky youth, they dared to make me look like a buffoon…." muttered the fuming captain under his breath. He had a maniacal, determined look in his eyes as he approached the main control office.

"You may take your break," dismissing his subordinate who was manning the wheel. He looked at the radar screen on his left. It showed jagged, foreboding rocks only a couple of miles away. Not wanting anyone to thwart his plans, he made everybody inside leave. Nobody thought of the command strange, they figured it's one of his eccentricities kicking in full-mode again. Besides, being the head honcho means he can do anything he wants and order everyone around. They just shrugged and left.

* * *

"Hey Kogure! There you are!" the three pointer called out. He jogged towards him. "Where have you been?" he asked, panting slightly.

"Hello Mitsui." said the vice-captain. He couldn't help but smile, in spite of a sinking feeling ( hehehe, sorry, no pun intended. I just couldn't resist ) over what the captain said a few minutes ago.

"Mitsui, who are those people ?" asked Fujima, jerking a thumb towards the mob behind the three pointer.

Sure enough, he was being followed by a throng of bikini-clad babes and some guys.

"What?" Mitsui looked at him quizzically. Then he looked at the crowd. "Oh! I don't know,…. my fans?" he finished lamely, blushing. 'Damn people! You're cramping my style in front of Min-kun!' He gave his "fans" a murderous gaze.

Kogure didn't know why, but he had the insane urge to grab Mitsui and yell "BACK OFF! HE'S MINE! YOU HEAR ME!" but thought better of it; he was not the possessive or jealous type (unlike somebody we know). Besides, the former gangster only treated him like a friend, no more than that. He settled to glower at the offending crowd instead.

CRUNCH! SCREEEEEEEE!

The sound of metal against rock rang out all over the ship. The impact was so great people were knocked off their feet.

"What the hell was that?" cried Mitsui, getting up.

"SH&T! He banged the ship!" hollered Kiyota.

* * *

"Hiro-kun! Look, I think I see sharks! Look! Look!" cried Sendoh, jumping up and down like a 6-year old on a sugar high.

"I'm looking! I'm looking!" snapped Koshino. "You look like you never saw sharks before, or the ocean for that matter." he added sarcastically, shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight.

"Oooooh! Turtles! Hello turtles!" cooed Sendoh, waving his arms at the marine reptiles as if they can understand a word he's screaming at them. Not satisfied, he climbed on the side railing to get a better look.

"Sendoh! Get down from there! You're embarrassing me!" Koshino shouted, red as a ripe tomato. The ace of Ryonan was making a fool out of himself again and people were gathering to watch the commotion.

"Aaaaw Hiro-kun! I want to see the turtles." He pouted cutely. "Come here and see them!" Sendoh yelled, offering his free hand to his best friend.

"Baka! It's not safe! Get down right now! You might fall!" Koshino shouted, louder this time. He glared at Sendoh.

"I didn't know you cared for my safety Hiro-kun." teased Sendoh, still looking at the turtles.

Koshino blushed furiously at the off-hand comment. "Are you deaf? I order you to come down Sendoh Akira! NOW!"

"Make me, Hiro-kun." drawled Sendoh, a smug smirk in his lips. He turned to look at Koshino. He was too busy infuriating the shorter boy to notice that the ship was fast approaching a bunch of mean-looking rocks.

CRUNCH! SCREEEEEEEEEE!

"WOAH!" cried Sendoh in surprise, his arms flailing to regain his balance.

"SENDOH!" bellowed Koshino, immediately grabbing Sendoh's waist and hoisting him off the rails.

"Hiro-kun! You saved my life! My hero!" gushed Sendoh, wrapping his arms around Koshino in an iron grip.

* * *

"What was that?" cried Hasegawa, milk spilling down on his shorts.

"Oh I don't know. It sounds like the ship collided with something." answered Fukuda nonchalantly, chewing his waffle like there was nothing wrong.

"UNBERIBABURYA! SEMPAIS! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" shrieked Hikoichi.

"Ok, let me just finish this last one." said Fukuda, pouring more maple syrup.

"NOOOO! OUT! NOW!" screamed Hasegawa and Hikoichi, wrenching him out of his seat.

"Where's the fire?" grumbled Fukuda, miffed at being ordered around.

* * *

Not noticing something was amiss, the Shohoku point guard was still debating whether to jump overboard or not.

"THE SHIP IS SINKING! I ASK EVERYONE NOT TO PANIC!" blared the intercom. The person announcing was not very convincing; the guy was clearly terrified, horror emanating from him in every syllable.

"What! Ayako! I'll save you!" he cried, forgetting everything and dashing off to find his beloved.

"EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" screamed somebody. Everyone was running around, scrambling to get lifejackets, lifesavers and boats. It was a cacophony of frenzied people saving their skins.

"AAARGH! HELP ME!

"DUDE COME HERE!"

"GETOFFF! OUT!"

"WHO'S THE WISEGUY? QUIT IT!"

"I'M GONNA SHOVE THAT STICK WHERE THE SUN DOESN'T SHINE IF YOU DON'T…!"

"GAAAHH! MAN OVERBOARD!"

"SOS! MARINES! COAST GUARD! 911! SOMEBODY!"

"YEEEAAGHHH!

"WHO KICKED ME?"

"HELP! HELP! HALP MEEEEE!"

"EEEEEEEEEEK! SAVE US! SAVE US!"

* * *

Meanwhile, the three basketball captains were lounging comfortably in a big yellow lifeboat. They were arguing about the MVP missing his shot, the ball barely grazing the hoop.

"You're losing your touch Maki." snickered Akagi

"The ring moved! I saw it!" said Maki indignantly.

"Come on, just admit it. You can't be flawless at shooting all the time." said Uozumi, his tone in mock sympathy.

"It doesn't count! It moved! It's the dumb boat's fault!" replied Maki angrily.

Then he was interrupted by the arrival of Fukuda, Hikoichi and Hasegawa.

"SEMPAIS! ARE WE GLAD TO SEE YOU! LET'S GO!" yelled Hikoichi, jumping right away into the yellow boat.

"I want more waffles!" butted in Fukuda.

"WILL YOU FORGET ABOUT THOSE DAMN WAFFLES! Help me untie this thing!" bellowed Hasegawa, steam coming out of his ears.

"Where's the fire?" asked Fukuda again. He looked at them dumbly.

Hasegawa looked at Fukuda as if he sprouted three heads. "Oooooh, how I'd love to set you on fire..." he hissed through clenched teeth.

But Hikoichi was one step ahead of him; he was already untying the last knot that was holding the boat.

"Hold it! What about my teammates?" protested Akagi.

"They'll be fine. Fujima and Hanagata are with them aren't they?" answered Uozumi carelessly.

Then the boat suddenly nose-dived 70 feet.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! MOMMMMMMMMY!" they shrieked. The boat landed with a big splash, soaking them.

"HIKOICHI! You could've given us a warning first!" bellowed Uozumi, strangling Hikoichi.

"Sorry sempais….." choked Hikoichi, turning blue from lack of oxygen.

* * *

"AYAKOOOOO! WHERE ARE YOU!" shouted Miyagi frantically. He was having a hard time getting through; people kept on pushing him roughly in their hurry to get away. Then he saw her running towards a lifeboat where Kogure and the others were clambering into. He hastily joined them.

The other two Ryonan players popped in, Koshino dragging Sendoh along with him, half-running, half-walking, sagging under the taller boy's weight. The blue-eyed ace was still clinging tightly to his best friend, thanking Koshino over and over for saving him.

"Thank you Koshino! I'm forever your slave….." said Sendoh with tears in his eyes.

"Get off! You're heavy!" yelled Koshino.

"Is everyone here? Are we complete?" asked Hanagata anxiously to everyone.

"I saw Maki, Jun, Akagi, Hasegawa, Hikoichi and Fukuda go down a while a go," said Fujima, looking at everyone and counting their heads. "Jin, Kogure, Hanamichi, Mitsui, Miyagi, Ayako, Sendoh, Koshino, Kiyota, Hanagata and me….a total of seventeen people."

"Wait sempai! Rukawa is not here!" cried Ayako.

"Nyahahahaha! He's probably asleep somewhere! Silly Kitsune!" hooted Sakuragi.

WHACK!

"ITAI!"

"Baka! You don't even care that one of your teammates is missing? Get out right now and look for him!" scolded Ayako, raising again her harisen.

"No way! I'm not gonna risk my life for Kitsune!" protested Sakuragi.

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

"DO IT!" shouted Ayako.

"Come on! The ship is sinking, fast!" interjected Mitsui.

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" the redhead bawled stubbornly.

"I'm gonna tell the Rukawa Brigade you let their idol drown! They'll make your life a living hell!" threatened Miyagi.

"Oro…!" the redhead spluttered. "You wouldn't….!"

"Oh I will. Count on it." growled the point guard.

"FINE! I'LL GO!" roared Sakuragi. "I thought we were pals Ryochin…." he sniffed.

He quickly got out and ran to find his narcoleptic archrival.

* * *

'Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…..peace and quiet at last…….Hana, you look so cute….play basketball with me……..Zzzzzzzzzz……' dreamed Rukawa. He was totally oblivious that no one was on the ship anymore, you can drop an atomic bomb at him and he'd still be sound asleep….

"KITSUNE! WAKE UP! GET YOUR ASS OUTTA HERE!

On second thought…he raised his fist, but stopped immediately when he saw his darling redhead. He blinked at him. "Do'aho."

"KITSUNE! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME! I SAID WE-HAVE- TO- GET-OUT- OF- HERE!"

Rukawa just continued to ogle at Hanamichi. He couldn't comprehend what the redhead was screaming at him, so he sat there staring impassively.

Sakuragi was on the verge of exploding, his temper about to reach its limit.

"KITSUNE! THE BOAT IS SINKING! LET'S GO!" he hollered.

Seeing that his shouting will get them nowhere, he snatched Rukawa and placed him on his shoulder, carrying him like a sack of potatoes.

'Wow, my knight in shining armor." Rukawa mused. He didn't bother to ask the redhead to put him down. He liked being carried by the redhead; it's his excuse to be in such a close proximity with him. 'God he smells so good….I wonder what aftershave he uses…..I want to stay on his shoulder forever……'

Hanamichi ran with much ease, as if Rukawa weighed nothing. 'Stupid Kitsune! What am I a donkey? I'm the Tensai! The only one who deserves to be rescued by me is Haruko-san! The world is much better off without this drooling ice prince…' he seethed.

On the way back, he spotted his luggage. It was badly beaten (since people stampeded on it a while ago), but still recognizable. Without difficulty, he grabbed it and sprinted to where Fujima and the others were waiting.

By the time they arrived, more than half the ship was already submerged. Hanamichi dumped Rukawa (much to the rookie's dismay) unceremoniously beside Sendoh, kicked his stuff inside hard, then jumped into the already crowded lifeboat.

"There! I got Kitsune! Happy now?" he snarled to everybody.

"There there Hana-kun, that was a noble thing to do." Sendoh said, patting Sakuragi in the back. Rukawa glared daggers at him.

"Okay! We're complete!" said Fujima. "Let's untie this boat, shall we?"

"I don't know….it looks kinda high…" muttered Ryota.

"It's only what? 30 feet?" Let's go!" said Koshino impatiently.

"Ready? Hold on minna-san!" yelled Kogure.

"Oh man…." mumbled Kiyota. Kogure and Fujima untied the last knot.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! WE'RE GONNA DIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

* * *

To be continued…………………..

Opal: For those who are confused on some words,

brig is a room for prisoners

keel-haul means tying a person under the ship

"Where's the fire?" is an idiom meaning "What is the fuss all about?"

Okay, you know the drill! REVIEW!


	6. Chapter 6: Survival of the Fittest

Chapter 6: Survival of the Fittest

Warning: major OOCness, animals abusing humans and vice versa, mild language and some hentainess in later chapters

A/N: Again, thank you to all those who reviewed! ArtemisObscure, chris, ZenQuin, anime-luverjc, Crescent Quetzacoatl, Jayne, frozenfemale, Annachan and delusionallady.

To ArtemisObscure: Yes! You guessed it right. But they will have other chow to eat besides coconuts.

To chris: Hahaha, no their lifeboat will not sink. Almost. About Hana carrying Ru around without breaking a sweat, he is famed to have long stamina.

To anime-luverjc and Jayne: As I say, OOCness makes a yaoi fic more interesting! Nyahahaha!

To frozenfemale: Arigato for the words of encouragement:glompz Angeline:

To Annachan: No one will die in this fic. Lol. That will indeed be a tragedy. Yep, human solidarity is ancient history, but chivalry (for Hanamichi's part) ain't! Lol.

To delusionallady: Welcome back! Hope you update some of your great fics soon!

To ZenQuin: Yay for RuHana!

To delirium86: I demand you continue your fic! Or will come there personally and slap you with my Harisen of Doom! Bwahahaha!

On with the story!

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! WE'RE GONNA DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!"

SPLASH!

The poor lifeboat, not designed to support so many people (and with their considerable height and stature) sunk for about a second then ricocheted back into the surface, breaking the law of buoyancy. (How that happened, nobody knows) Everybody inside bounced and banged into one another.

"IIIITTTTAAAAAIIIII!"

So there they were, right smack in the middle of the ocean and drenched to the bone. But their troubles were not over………oh no, not in a long shot.

All were silent, still stunned from their 30-foot plunge. Until……

"That was fun! Let's do that again! Nyahahahaha!" whooped Sakuragi, breaking the stillness.

"Do'aho." mumbled Rukawa.

"Teme Kitsune!"

"Hn. Zzzzzzzzzzz…." ignoring the object of his affection, the blue-eyed rookie drifted off again.

"You ungrateful Kitsune! If it wasn't for me you'd be de….ITAI!" howled Hanamichi clutching the newly-formed lump in his head.

"Baka! If Miyagi didn't blackmail you in the first place, you wouldn't even lift a finger to help Rukawa!" scolded Ayako.

"Maa, maa minna-san… let's try to look for the others first, then continue with this debate later. Please?" appealed Kogure.

"Where is everyone?" wondered Hanagata out loud. All he can see was water and the empty (still sinking) vessel.

* * *

It turned out that they were at the wrong place at the wrong time again; the Japan Coast Guard was rescuing all of the other passengers of Titanic II at the opposite side. The captain's only consolation for losing his prized ship and sanity to a group of teenagers was abandoning them in the middle of nowhere. Ah, the power of sheer loathing…..(in other words, he kinda errr, cursed them)

"Is everyone rescued? Everything taken care of?" asked a man from Coast Guard.

"Hai. We found the captain last; he was still in his office. He was adamant not to leave his ship; we have to knock him unconscious to get him out." answered his assistant.

"Poor man. He was the most excellent captain of Kanagawa for the last 20 years……I wonder why he's gone over the edge….." he muttered. "Okay let us pack up and leave. We have to tell the media ….this is indeed a tragedy…" he said, shaking his head.

"But at least no one died and we rescued everyone sir." countered the assistant.

"Yes…you're right…""Let's go." he said finally.

With that they left, leaving our beloved basketball players behind.

* * *

Meanwhile the said cause of the biggest marine disaster in Japan was facing the wrath of his fellow hothead, Koshino.

"Can anyone tell me why this fiasco happened?" asked Koshino, his voice dangerously low.

Kiyota, Hanagata, Kogure, Fujima and Jin flushed and looked at their feet. Then they glanced at the redhead who was having a one-sided glaring contest with Rukawa.

"Oi, why are all you all looking at me? It's not like I was the one who smashed the ship to those rocks in the first place." objected Hanamichi, putting on his most childlike expression. It didn't daunt Koshino's rising temper though.

"BAKA! I'm gonna…..!" screeched Koshino, pouncing at Hanamichi. Sendoh managed to hold his best friend just in time before he gave the redhead a punch in the face.

"Now Hiro-kun, no need to be violent." he said in a gentle tone. He stroked Koshino's head like a parent soothing a grumpy child. Koshino struggled to escape but gave up. Even if he desired so much to kick the redhead's egoistic ass, he'd sacrifice anything to Sendoh's cuddling. Not that he'd admit it. He settled to scowl at Hanamichi instead.

"You want to fight with me Shorty?" mocked Sakuragi, cracking his knuckles. "Come and get a lickin' then!" he cried, standing up and posing Bruce Lee style.

"Woah Hanamichi! You might capsize the boat!" said Fujima hurriedly.

Indeed, it was tipping towards Hanamichi's side and water was creeping in. Taking action to regain peace once more, Ayako too stood up and slammed the redhead with THE FAN in the noggin again, this time with more intensity.

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

Everyone didn't notice a big black fin slowly inching towards their boat. They were too busy watching the comical spectacle between Ayako and Hanamichi.

"OW! OW! Okay I'll stop! I'll stop!" whined Hanamichi. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something enormous float and then sink. Float then sink.

"Ne, what is that thing?" asked Hanamichi, pointing to the spot where he last saw the mysterious shape.

Right that instant a monstrous head of a fish popped out, spraying them with water and showing hundreds of teeth in its entire sharp, pointed glory. It snapped its strong jaws at them.

"HOLY SH#T! SHARK! SHARK! SHARK! SHARK!" screamed Mitsui, losing all of his composure.

"GAAAAH! WHERE ARE THE OARS?" yelled Fujima, searching frantically around the cramped boat but it was like looking for a needle in the haystack; all he can see were big feet.

"WE'RE GONNA DIE! WE'RE FISH FOOD!" wailed Kiyota, burrowing closer beside Jin. The Kainan three-pointer would've swooned with delight for being so near Kiyota, but the dire circumstances made no room for passing out. He yowled in unison with the hysterical freshman.

"WOW! A Great White! This rare species attacks other sharks! Even PEOPLE!" exclaimed Sendoh happily. He scuttled towards the edge, trying to get near the man-eating fish.

"TELL US SOMETHING WE DON'T KNOW!" bellowed Koshino, again grabbing the animal-loving ace and hastily pulling him away.

"AYAKOOOOO! I'LL SAVE YOU!" cried Miyagi, using his body to shield the manageress.

"DON'T PANIC MINNA-SAN! IT WILL ONLY EXCITE THE SHARK MORE!" shouted Kogure.

"WHERE ARE THOSE DAMN PADDLES!" roared Hanagata in frustration.

"Zzzzzzzzzz……noisy do'ahos……..Zzzzzzzzz" said Rukawa, half-asleep and drooling.

"HEY YOU STUPID SHARK! COME AND GET KITSUNE! HE'S STILL FRESH AND KICKING!" yelled Hanamichi while trying to push Rukawa towards the shark's open jaws.

"I'LL TAKE CARE OF THIS! GET OUT OF MY WAY MIYAGI!" said Ayako firmly. She dashed towards the shark and struck it with all the strength she could muster. The shark didn't know what hit him.

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

After ten more hard blows, the shark went down and disappeared. Everyone whooped and cheered for the daring manageress.

"Yeah Ayako! You're da man! I mean woman!" exclaimed Mitsui. Everyone joined in with the chant.

"Sugoi…." whispered Miyagi, looking at Ayako with awe. 'She's really amazing….'

"Ne Benchwarmer and Megane, I found your water stick." said Hanamichi, pulling out one paddle under his foot. A sailor he ain't.

"It's called a paddle baka. You really are a Tensai." said Kiyota sarcastically. The Kainan rookie had the other paddle in his hand. Hanamichi would've given him his famous headbutt if Sendoh didn't cut in.

"I didn't know sharks are afraid of paper fans." said Sendoh, scratching his head.

"Heck, with gori's sister holding that thing it becomes a deadly weapon. Anyone would run away from her." whispered Hanamichi to Sendoh's ear, voice full of conviction. He winked and gave a chuckle. Rukawa wasn't too happy.

'Damn it do'aho! Why are you friendly with him? This is the last straw Sendoh!' fumed Rukawa.

"I heard that Sakuragi Hanamichi." said Ayako, brandishing her "weapon" in front of the redhead.

"It's a compliment Ayako." said Sendoh quickly. "And look, the shark brought along some of his friends. They're cute aren't they?" added Sendoh, eager to see them again.

Sure enough, the previous shark brought along some of his buddies. Since he can't take down the boat alone, he called for five reinforcements to come and join in the human buffet. One word in the minds of the troop of sharks: LUNCHTIME!

"F&#K! THERE ARE MORE OF THEM!" cursed the now-very-alarmed Mitsui. (He sure is colorful in his language. Lol. )

"YOU ALL WANT A PIECE OF ME? COME AND GET IT YOU NO-GOOD CANNIBALS!" shrieked Ayako while wielding her fan like a sword and wagging it around. Miyagi was trying his best not to let her wallop the sharks again. They look real mad and hungry.

"KEEP CALM MINNA-SAN!" shouted Kogure. It didn't help much; everyone was screaming at the top of their lungs again. Who could blame them?

"ARMS DON'T FAIL ME NOW! SAKURAGI! USE THE WATER STICK! yelled Kiyota, now paddling furiously.

"RIGHT!" said Hanamichi paddling just as fast. He looked behind and saw the shark troop picking up speed, his eyes almost popping out. "YIKES!"

"FASTER! COME ON, THEY'RE GAINING ON US!" yelled Koshino, his voice getting higher by the second.

"ROW MEN! ROW! ROW! ROW! ROW! ROW!" shouted Fujima and Hanagata. (They were like those men in boat races, the ones who have megaphones to bark orders.) Usually they were the ones being cheered on by their loyal supporters in games (think Shohoku vs. Shoyo) , but now the tables have turned and they're the ones shouting their heads off. Too bad they didn't have any plastic soda bottles with them.

Meanwhile Jin lost his ability to talk. He was too horrified to do anything at all, he could only gape open-mouthed at the cluster of sharks chasing them. 'We are so dead…..' he thought.

Rukawa had other ideas. 'Hmmmm, there are sharks waiting to be fed. And there is someone I want to feed them to.' he mused, glancing at Sendoh.

He made up his mind and moving nearer the Ryonan ace, he pushed him forcefully, almost succeeding but Koshino caught Sendoh before he fell over the water.

"RUKAWA! WHAT IN KAMI'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?" roared Koshino, while gripping Sendoh. The Ryonan ace grinned widely, (even after narrowly missing death the dude can still smile) because his Hiro-kun was standing up for him again.

"Trying to feed the sharks." replied Rukawa casually.

"You're one sick psycho you know that?" hissed Koshino. "Do that again and I'll skin you alive." he threatened, letting go of Sendoh.

"Whatever." said Rukawa coldly, ignoring the threat. 'Damn that meddling imp! I was so close!' he seethed.

"LOOK! THERE'S LAND! PADDLE STRAIGHT TO IT!" ordered Hanagata.

"Easy for you :pant: to say :pant: you guys are :huff: too :pant: damn heavy!" grumbled Hanamichi. Kiyota was also showing signs of fatigue.

"Almost :gasp: there…:wheeze:" grunted Kiyota. He felt as if his arms were about to fall off. But still he and Hanamichi paddled on like the speed of light, because the idea of a bunch of lowly fish tearing them limb from limb didn't suit their over-inflated egos. No way they'll let an animal lower in the food chain eat them! The speed their boat was going could've made best time in the Olympic boat rowing competition.

The sharks were still hot in their heels though. Their large smorgasbord was too tasty to pass up. The hunt went on, neither party relenting. At last they were only a few meters from the island. Seconds later, they touched ground.

"FINALLY!" exclaimed Hanamichi very relieved. He was the first one out of the boat, carrying with him his beat-up luggage. He almost kissed the ground with joy. "IN YOUR FACE YOU STUPID SHARKS! THE TENSAI WOULDN'T BE EATEN SO EASILY! NYAHAHAHAHA!" he yelled gleefully, sticking his tongue out and dancing the electric slide.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! THE NUMBER ONE ROOKIE SAVES THE DAY AGAIN!" joined in Kiyota while making rude hand gestures at the sharks. The troop of Great Whites was currently circling the island, still hopeful of getting a human treat. They were clearly pissed off.

"That was horrible." mumbled Jin. He was pale and shaking. Kiyota quickly stopped his gloating and rushed beside Jin to comfort him. He placed an arm on the older boy's shoulder. "Just sit down Jin-sempai. It's over, no more bad sharks. Bwahahahahaha! " Jin managed to smile weakly.

"Stupid fish! I almost got a heart attack! I never want to get into the water again!" said Mitsui angrily. His heart was still thumping loudly in his chest. He was leaning on a coconut tree for support while Kogure patted him in the back, making him blush.

"Don't worry Mitsui. They won't stay here long, they have other hunting places." assured Kogure. He grinned at the three-pointer. "I didn't know you can scream so loud." he teased, hoping to lighten the situation. Mitsui smirked back, despite wanting to be eaten by the sharks right now out of embarrassment.

"Man those guys can paddle fast." said Fujima. "Those sharks never had a chance." replied Hanagata. Both of them gave meaningful looks, and then they burst out laughing hysterically.

"Darn, my fan is ruined." said Ayako sadly. Her trusty fan was now limp and soggy in her hands. Miyagi wanted to console her, but she ignored him. She was still miffed about the pictures. Ryota's heart felt as if it would bleed any second now. 'Waaah! She's still mad at me…Aya-chan…' he sniffed.

"I'm gonna sue! This is the worst day of my life!" ranted Koshino. He looked around. "Where the hell are we?" he snarled, rounding on Sendoh.

" I don't know Hiro-kun…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

Rukawa was watching Hanamichi, still dancing and taunting the sharks.

'Hanamichi……you'll be mine soon……'

* * *

To be continued…………

Opal: Okay REVIEW!


	7. Chapter 7: Roughing It

Chapter 7: Roughing It

Warning: Same as the ones in previous chapters. Mild hentainess alert!

A/N: All brands and products are not mine. I wish I own them though………

Thanks for those who reviewed! Namely chris, anime-luverjc, frozenfemale, Nakkie, delusionallady, dragon dreams, Hagane, and sereneione.

To Hagane: Thank you nice reviewer! I'm sorry if I didn't include you in the last chapter. Gomen. Woah, you want that kind of thing? We'll see…Ru was pretty mean to our smiling ace…he really loves his do'aho.

To sereneione: Thanks! My family thinks I'm nuts also, me laughing by myself while I'm writing this fic. Welcome to Loonies Club amigo :shakes hand:

To Nakkie: Well I can't please everybody, can I? Thank you for giving me your honest opinion.

To delusionallady: Yeah! Our dear Hiro-kun is very protective. Heehehe…thanks for uploading your fic "Saving Gori's Sister."

To dragon dreams: Arigato :glompz dragon dreams:

To anime-luverjc: You think so? I'm so happy sometimes, I even scare myself. Lol. I got the idea from the Deep Blue Sea soundtrack.

To chris: Those sharks never had a chance! Too bad THE FAN is now as dangerous as a wet tissue. But Ayako will have other materials; so don't you worry!

To frozen female: You think so? Thank you so much :glompz Angeline:

Sorry minna-san for the late update! I'm enjoying my vacation too much, because my carefree days are coming to an end next month. What a hassle….and I'm clueless what SAT's mean…

On with the fic!

* * *

"Where the hell are we?" snarled Koshino.

"I don't know Hiro-kun…" replied Sendoh, shaking his head.

He was preoccupied at looking around the island. It was a scenic place; the epitome of perfect paradise. It had lush vegetation, but most of it were coconut trees and banana groves. The sand was pure white, and the water crystal blue; one can actually spot many exquisite fish and multicolored corals underneath.

"I think we came from the south, then we turned west when those fish arrived, or was it east?" said Kogure, totally confused. He sweatdropped. "I was kind of distracted by those sharks. Gomen minna-san." He laughed nervously.

"This must be an island reserve or something. There must be some people other than us in this place." interjected Fujima. He was clearly worried; he never handled a situation like this before.

"I don't know Kenji. This place looks deserted to me." said Hanagata. He didn't want to be pessimistic, but it was no use giving false hope to the others. He bit his lip.

"Let's look around sempais. I don't want to be stuck here forever." butted in Ayako while glowering at a certain Shohoku point guard. She was certainly in a foul mood, their dream vacation was a bust, she lost her stuff and extra fans, sharks almost took a chunk out of her arm, her harisen was out of commission and there was nothing else to vent anger out of her system. Miyagi was trying his best not to burst into tears.

"Yeah, it's better to look for help than standing here doing nothing. Right Kogure?" said Mitsui.

Kogure nodded. " Anou, Hanamichi want to come along?" he asked the redhead.

Hanamichi was still annoying the sharks to no end. He only stopped when he heard his name, looking more smug than ever. "So you guys finally realized that you need Super Tensai Sakuragi if another animal comes attacking again! They are no match to the Super Tensai's greatness! Nyahahaha!" he exclaimed loudly while doing his infamous Tensai pose.

Everyone looked at him in disbelief. How he can still be obnoxious at times like these, they had no idea. 'Super Tensai? Oh boy…' they mused.

Not wanting to be upstaged by the "Super Tensai", Kiyota added his two cents in. "Hey! If it wasn't for my excellent rowing skills, we would've been inside those shark's stomachs by now! I'm the Super, Number One Rookie! Bwahahaha!"

"Can we go now? Let's just leave without them." said Koshino impatiently. He marched off, with Sendoh trailing behind. Everyone else followed him.

"OI! Wait for us!" cried Sakuragi and Kiyota. Rukawa and Jin went after them. They all entered the thick foliage.

* * *

A few hours later……………

No such luck with their quest to find other people. The island was so thick with plants and trees; it was easy to get lost in them. Not wanting anyone to get separated from the group, Fujima made everyone get a partner and hold hands with them.

All of them flushed at the command and shyly offered their hands. Not wanting anyone to get his do'aho, Rukawa immediately seized Hanamichi from the behind in an iron-grip bear hug. Ayako grudgingly complied and let Ryota hold hers, but the redhead was stubbornly rebelling.

"NANI? Get off Kitsune! The Super Tensai doesn't need anybody! Especially you!" protested Hanamichi, struggling wildly in Rukawa's grasp. The redhead was too surprised to get the hint. The rookie still held on, not caring that everyone was giving them meaningful glances.

"Arrrgh! Lemme go! Baka Kitsune!" screeched Hanamichi again.

"Do'aho. If you want to get lost in this place, be my guest." replied Rukawa coolly. But still he didn't let go.

"Come on Sakuragi, do you want to get out of here or not?" said Fujima, a trace of irritation in his voice.

Growling, Hanamichi relented. But instead of holding Rukawa's hand, he grabbed his shirt. The blue-eyed rookie had no choice but to be dragged along or else his jersey will be ripped off. Not that he minded.

"I think I hear a stream due north." said Jin. He went ahead of the group and listened closely.

They trudged further along, approaching one side of a rocky mountain. Hearing a thunderous rush of water, they followed the sound. True enough, they saw a long stream full of smooth, round stones. Connected to it was a beautiful pool under a tall waterfall.

"Woah…" uttered Mitsui, walking nearer to the pool. He was speechless at the sight before him. It was the most magnificent body of water he had ever seen. It was big and circular, flanked by smooth, 10-foot oval-shaped stones towering over the clear waters. Behind the waterfall, he saw a small hollow cave.

He snapped out of it when he heard screams.

"Aaaaaah! Sendoh! Noooooo!" yelled Koshino, covering his eyes.

"Eeeeek! Kiyota! Stop it!" squealed Jin, blushing head to foot.

"Sakuragi! Can't you see a lady is around?" hollered Miyagi angrily. He was steering Ayako to look in the other direction. The manageress didn't need any help; she was busy looking everywhere, save at the three stripping men. Hanagata, Kogure and Fujima however were too busy talking about being stranded to notice the show.

Rukawa stared unabashedly at the redhead, not even blinking at the sight. 'Take it all off do'aho…' (Opal: I can't believe I'm writing this. Gak! Rukawa: Come on! I want to learn human anatomy for once! )

"What? I'm not gonna go buff or anything." said Hanamichi defensively. He was wearing snug black boxers. Rukawa nearly had a nosebleed. 'Chikuso! He looks too hot for his own good…it would be better if he took those off too….' more hentai images followed.

"Yeah. Like what he said." said Kiyota, looking at Jin. The three-pointer only blushed more at the cute figure before him, clad only in navy blue boxers. "Besides, look at Sendoh." Kiyota added, pointing at Ryonan's ace. Koshino was yelling his head off at his best friend's lack of clothing.

"But Hiro-kun, I don't wanna get my favorite underwear wet!" bawled Sendoh stubbornly. He put his hands on his hips and pouted adorably. He was in the process of taking off his boxers with lemons in them. (How ironic. Get it?)

"BAKA! It's better than showing us your birthday suit! Put some clothes on, for Kami's sake!" barked Koshino, very red now.

"'It's not as if you haven't seen me like this before. You caught me once in my house." replied Sendoh, wiggling his eyebrows. Sakuragi, Mitsui and Kiyota howled with laughter. Koshino gaped at him.

"Shut up! It was an accident! How the hell was I supposed to know you practice nudism at your room?" retorted Koshino angrily. He wanted to strangle the smiling ace before him.

"Oh I get it. You want to be the only one to see me naked! Sure thing Hiro-kun, why didn't you ask in the first place?" said Sendoh innocently. He winked. Hooting and whistles followed.

Koshino was too stunned to talk so he glowered menacingly instead. All of Sendoh's innuendo hit him hard. 'I can't believe this…he's hitting on me again! Kuso!'

Fujima sighed and rolled his eyes at them. "Guys, please. We should be figuring out how to get out of here and not swimming… and getting naked!" he said seriously, slamming his fist to his palm for more emphasis. His coaching habit was rearing its ugly head, saying the latter more loudly than he intended. Everyone sniggered.

'Somehow that didn't come out right…' he thought, looking at their amused faces. He flushed in embarrassment. Hanagata coughed, trying to pull the glare of the spotlight away from Fujima.

"Well people, I have to be honest with you. We are, ahem, marooned in this island for the time being." the tall center said formally. Some snorted and grumbled.

"Duh! We don't have to be Einstein to figure that out." groused Koshino. Fujima glared at him.

"So my point is, we have to work first on letting passing ships, planes and other people know that we are stranded here. If some of you want, you can go here again later. But first things first alright? Tell them about your plan Kogure." said Hanagata, motioning to the Shohoku vice-captain to take the floor.

"Okay minna-san, if we all cooperate nicely, we can get out of here asap. I ask all of you to gather wood, since it will be night soon and we need fire for signaling people. And it will also be needed to build us shelter."

The rest looked at him like he's gone mad.

"You mean we are going to sleep on sticks? Seriously?" said Miyagi with skeptically.

"Not really Miyagi. We are going to use them to hold coconut leaves together. Unless you prefer to sleep in caves that is." answered Kogure simply.

"NO WAY!" almost all shouted in unison.

"That's settled then." said Kogure, giving them an encouraging smile. Nobody protested this time.

After gathering all of the sticks they can get, they marched back to the seashore.

* * *

Upon arriving at their camp, Ayako spotted a large, black semi-rectangular shaped object. It was smooth and curved at the edges.

'Wonder what that thing is….' she thought. She didn't have to ponder on it longer when Sendoh gleefully ran towards it.

"Yes! I almost forgot I had this…" he was grinning more widely than ever. Sendoh was carrying it like it was some valuable relic.

"Sendoh, is that your luggage? I didn't see you bring it with us after the boat sank." said Koshino. He was looking at it with disbelief. Everyone else gathered around him.

"That's because this is a special luggage!" Sendoh replied proudly.

"What about it? It looks ordinary to me." interjected Hanamichi.

"Oh no. I nicked this off a spy site. All of the top secret agents use this! Cost me about 3 month's worth of allowance to buy me this thing. It's waterproof, bulletproof, and has a built in homing device with wheels and propellers so it never gets lost. They invented this because spies complained over losing their stuff when their planes or ships blow up." He started to open it.

They were greeted by a variety of Tommy Bahamas Hawaiian silk shirts and shorts, the ones with loud colors and flower prints. Underneath were lemon scented shampoo and conditioner, sunblock, sunglasses, underwear (all with lemon prints), a fishing rod, a box of fancy lures, an electric toothbrush, whitening toothpaste, hair combs, hair gels, etc.…

"Funny, for a nudist you have so many designer clothes." said Koshino sarcastically. Everyone sweatdropped.

"You ain't the only one with stuff! Super Tensai Sakuragi also brought his! Nyahahaha!" the redhead cut in loudly. Everyone turned to see the loot.

Turned out most of Hanamichi's stuff were food. It's a barrage of Hershey's chocolate bars and kisses, Lay's potato chips, Doritos', Milk Duds, Jelly Belly's, Oreo's, Twinkies, pretzels, marshmallows and all the other products in the junk food industry. The rest were clothes, underwear, toothbrush, a Frisbee, a pack of cards and oddly enough, a box of expensive Ferrero Rocher chocolates. They sweatdropped.

"Well at least we have some in the clothes and errr, food department. Are you guys willing to share with us? asked Fujima hopefully.

"Sure, except the toothbrush. But I'll lend you guys my underwear anytime." said Sendoh, winking cheekily. Koshino gave him a hard bonk in the head.

"Okay. Just get anything you want, but not the Ferrero's though. It's my favorite." replied Hanamichi nonchalantly. He was munching on a chocolate bar. The group was thankful of the two.

"Well minna-san, let's get started. We'll build a fire first. Can you help me Mitsui? The rest will build the tent." announced Kogure. Mitsui grinned at him.

"So Kogure, why need my help all of a sudden?" drawled Mitsui. Kogure blushed.

"Ah, because I know for a fact that um, you're an expert pyromaniac." stuttered Kogure.

"Nani! Where did you learn that?" asked Mitsui. He was surprised that his Min-kun knew his "other" talent.

"Nothing. Can we get started?" replied the vice-captain hurriedly. 'I almost slipped on that one…'

Mitsui shrugged, not showing he was bothered. 'Is this guy researching me or something? Damn this is embarrassing…'. He decided to get the answer out of Kogure sooner or later.

They didn't talk after that. True to Kogure's assumptions, Mitsui was good at getting a little flame into a blazing inferno in such a short time. He moved with such precision, knowing when to add more leaves or wood and blowing on it at regular intervals. Kogure couldn't help but stare.

"There. All done." said Mitsui. He dusted himself off and smiled at the vice-captain. He caught the bespectacled boy gazing intently at him. He grinned wider.

"Thanks Mitsui." mumbled Kogure. 'Kami! Now I look like a lovesick idiot. Ack, I AM a lovesick idiot…'

"No prob. I'll help the others now." said Mitsui. He stood up and walked away, grinning goofily.

The other party wasn't progressing very much. The supposed "tent" they were making didn't resemble a tent at all, or anything a person can crawl into and sleep in. They tried making it into one big tent so all of them could fit in it, but none of them had the skill in binding all the sticks together so it all tumbled down again and again.

"At the rate we're going, we'll be sleeping under the stars tonight." said Kiyota, throwing the sticks down in disgust.

"Maybe we should make smaller ones instead sempais. It would be much more stable." suggested Ayako.

"Good thinking Ayako. How do we divide this? By pairs again?" asked Fujima.

"NOOOOOO!" yelled Koshino, Sakuragi, and Ayako. Kogure wanted to protest also, but he didn't want to hurt Mitsui's feelings by avoiding him. He sighed in defeat. 'This is not going to be easy…'

"Aaaw Hiro-kun, don't you want to stay with me?" said Sendoh, winking mischievously.

"No way Akira! Stay the hell away from me!" exclaimed Koshino, shaking a fist.

"I'll visit you then." replied the ace. He chuckled. Koshino paled.

"It was only a suggestion." laughed Hanagata. "Have it your way then."

Night came, and they all finished their tents using sticks and coconut leaves overlapping one another. They were so hungry, they ate Sakuragi's junk food like it was prime cuisine. Most of them went to sleep after that.

Sakuragi, Koshino, Rukawa, Ayako, Sendoh and Miyagi all had separate quarters. The rest were settled comfortably with their best friends.

"Good night Aya-chan." said Miyagi, before turning in for the night. The manageress glanced at him and said nothing. 'At least she's not glaring at me anymore…sigh… I'll apologize to her tomorrow…' he mused. He promptly went to sleep.

* * *

To be continued……….

Opal: Sorry if it sounds weird if I refer to a bunch of leaves and sticks as tents. And I'll try to update faster.

Any questions about some :cough cough: terms, ask me okay? I'd be happy to enlighten you.

Rukawa: "Quit making my life miserable and hook me up with Hanamichi already!"

Opal: "Ohohoho, no way Jose dude. I'm taking my time whether you like it or not!"

Rukawa: "Grrr…."

Opal: "Patience there now…"

Ooops! You know the drill!

REVIEW!


	8. Chapter 8: Day 1: Open Palm

Chapter 8: Open Palm

Disclaimer: The song "Anything" by 3t is not mine.

Warning: OOcness, sap and fluff overload. Not much humor as the last chapters, but I hope you guys still enjoy it!

A/N: Thank you for all those who reviewed! Namely, chris37, Hikaru Itsuko, anime-luverjc, hagane, Jayne, dragon dreams, frozen female, Artemis Obscure and Ami the 13th .

To frozenfemale: Thanks for the info mate! I really don't read the announcements at the front. My bad. As for the OOCness, I love making them that way.

To chris37: Yep. He loves his do'aho so much…aaaw sweet!

To Hikaru Itsuko: Thanks! My favorite is Akira also.

To animeluverjc: Arigato for the nice suggestion! But I have another idea about having no bed at all for them. Haha. You'll see…

To Hagane: Are you still mad at me? I knew I'd get in trouble with those lemon boxers…

To Ami the 13th: I'm sorry for surprising you like that. Anyone deserves to be thanked, taking your time to review and giving me encouragement and all. I'm glad!

To dragon dreams: Yeah, kinda nice combination ain't it?

To Artemis Obscure: There will be more nose bleeding, so have more tissues there in stock, I suggest the 4-ply kind. Yeah, it's the anticipation that makes it good ne? wink Ooops, I forgot about that…fish boxers…man, that piece of clothing is really getting me into trouble.

Now, you all most be kinda unnerved by the drastic change. This chapter will be a semi-songfic. :gasp: There! I said it! Come take me away :faints:

:gets up again: Anyway, I just feel that it adds more, oh I don't know, stirring of emotions (I might say lol) or impact or whatever you may call it to the story. Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic and a sucker for mush. Don't kill me minna-san :puppy dog eyes: This is my first time in writing a songfic so…easy on me k?

'thoughts' "dialogues" _words in italics are lyrics_

On with the fic!

* * *

Early morning…. 

The sun was steadily rising, its golden rays slowly gracing the island. Birds were chirping and the waves gently lapped the shore.

Miyagi woke up, still groggy from sleep, to the sounds of different voices. He heard some laughing and mild teasing outside his leafy tent. He surveyed his surroundings blearily.

'Nandato? Why am I inside a tent?' Miyagi thought, panic rising. Then he remembered all the crazy events yesterday, especially when Ayako got mad at him. He sighed.

'I still haven't apologized to her…what am I going to do?' He sat there for a few minutes, pondering. But his brain seems to be still in la-la land, so no idea came.

'Oh well. I can't stay here forever, so better go outside and make myself useful.'

He got up, dusted sand off his clothes and went out.

The Shohoku point guard saw that everyone was wide awake now, (except Rukawa ), and all of them were busy doing something. Sendoh was fishing, sitting on a lone, uneven rock Miyagi never noticed before.

It seems the rumors about the ace of Ryonan were true after all; Sendoh had a knack for fishing. Koshino and Ayako were near the water, gutting and washing numerous fish while chatting merrily.

Kogure was helping Mitsui build a fire while he saw Jin carrying a large bunch of bananas in his arms.

Meanwhile the two Shoyo players were making a "Help" sign made entirely out of heavy, melon-shaped rocks. Miyagi went over to help them.

"Thanks. Me and Fujima might've gotten a bad case of hernia if you didn't come." said Hanagata, a little out of breath. Fujima and Miyagi laughed.

"Looks pretty good. I hope planes passing by will see this." said Fujima, wiping sweat out of his brow. He took a couple of steps back to admire their handiwork.

"It's big enough sempais. I bet we'll be rescued soon, Governor must be bullying the Japan Coast Guard right now." assured Miyagi.

* * *

"I got to hand it to you nozaru, I never saw someone climb a coconut tree so fast." yelled Sakuragi from below. The two freshmen were assigned by Kogure to gather coconuts. They were getting along surprisingly well for once, but there was still the usual exchange of opinions. 

"Of course! I'm the Super No. 1 Rookie! Bwahahaha!" replied Kiyota cheekily. He was trying to hack the bundle of fruit with a knife he borrowed from Sendoh. (It came with the spy luggage that Sendoh didn't know until now)

"More like Super Tree-Climbing Monkey. Nyahahaha!" retorted Hanamichi. A second later, a coconut plummeted out of nowhere, narrowly missing his head.

"OI! Watch where you drop that thing nozaru!" The redhead shouted angrily.

"One more crack like that and I'm gonna chuck this straight to your thick, brainless skull! You hear me?" yelled Kiyota back.

"Hurry up, I'm starving already!" nagged Hanamichi.

"Just shut up and catch! Heads up monkey!" exclaimed Kiyota, dropping the weighty fruits. Hanamichi managed to catch the bunch.

"Think that's enough?" asked Kiyota, climbing down swiftly.

"Yeah. We got more than Megane asked us. Let's go, I need breakfast." said Hanamichi, handing the Kainan rookie his share to carry. They went off towards their campsite.

* * *

Morning came…..then afternoon……… 

"Looks like Uozumi's not the only one who wants to be a chef someday. I taste a bit of lemon…very nice Sendoh." commented Fujima while chewing his fish thoughtfully. Everyone was impressed; they never thought a guy like Sendoh could cook a decent meal. They nodded their approval.

Sendoh gave a million mega-watt smile and shook his head. "Nah. My dad taught me how to cook on our frequent fishing trips. And I was a Boy Scout when I was 10, so I know this kind of stuff. Hiro-kun used to be a Boy Scout too." said Sendoh proudly, patting Koshino in the back. "By the way, where's Ru? Is he still sleeping?" he asked.

"What else? I reckon Kitsune can sleep a whole month and I'd still be normal for him." snorted Hanamichi.

"Someone's got to wake him up. It's quarter to three already, he needs to eat too." said Kogure, glancing at his watch.

"One question: Who will? That guy punches the daylights out of anyone who wakes him up." said Mitsui, raising an eyebrow. 'And to think people call me violent back then.' he mused ruefully.

"He really does that? He's scary…" said Jin.

"He's a weirdo, no doubt about it." cut in Kiyota.

"Finally, someone who thinks like I do." said Hanamichi, grinning at his new ally.

"Hey Hanamichi, I remember one time at practice you woke him up but he didn't cuff you or anything. That's strange…" said Miyagi, rubbing his chin, lost in thought.

"Yeah, he doesn't hit me anymore like he used to, 'cause he's afraid of a Super Tensai like me! So what?" replied the redhead, getting more annoyed of the topic.

Realization hit the group moments later. They grinned at the clueless redhead.

"Nani? Why are you all smiling at me like that?" Hanamichi eyed them warily.

"Nothing. Since you're the only one who manages to get away waking up Rukawa without a scratch, could you do it now?" requested Ayako.

"What the? Why am I always dumped with Kitsune duties?" The redhead bellowed heatedly.

"You're the one closest to him." replied Mitsui in a matter-of-fact voice. He stifled a snigger with great effort.

"You want to know what my fists taste like Missy?" growled Hanamichi.

"No thank you Sakuragi." said Mitsui coolly.

"You just have to rouse him awake. What's so hard about that?" said Hanagata. They looked at the redhead expectantly. Sakuragi threw his hands up in the air in defeat.

"FINE! You guys are really making my life hell, you know that?" said Hanamichi with disdain. He stomped off, muttering curses.

* * *

"But I thought they hated each other. Didn't they fight in the middle of the game against us?" inquired Jin, while looking at Hanamichi's retreating figure. 

"They're fighting all the time." laughed Sendoh. "I had the suspicion Ru digs Hana-kun after the practice match we had months ago. I thought he was just being competitive and wanted to beat me in court someday, but turns out the other reason Ru hates me so much is that he didn't want anybody to get too friendly with the redhead. His eyes were screaming bloody murder when I chatted with Hanamichi after the game." He smirked at the memory.

"Not to mention he tried to turn you into shark food." said Koshino tersely.

"I can't believe it! Rukawa liking that red-haired monkey…!" hooted Kiyota. He fell down clutching his sides.

"Why didn't I notice it before?" wondered Kogure out loud.

"He is acting odd lately, well, more odd than usual that is." replied Miyagi. "He really is a sly Kitsune." he added.

"So all those two need is a little "help" ne?" said Hanagata, making air apostrophes.

Ayako, Mitsui, and Miyagi smirked.

"Then there would be peace in the world…or at least in Kanagawa that is." grinned the former gangster.

"You want us to lend a hand?" asked Fujima. He was smiling mischievously.

"Sure."

* * *

Nighttime…. 

All were sitting around the fire, since it was still early to sleep. Their little "help" involved of making the unsuspecting redhead sit beside Rukawa by taking up all the space except the one next to his sworn enemy. Hanamichi just ignored the blue-eyed rookie and kept his mouth shut, much to everyone's disappointment.

"So…anybody wanna tell scary stories?" said Sendoh, still full of energy. Everybody groaned. Miyagi perked up.

'This is it. Quit being a chicken and tell her you're sorry Miyagi!" The point guard steeled himself. "Ayako, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked hopefully. He almost whooped with joy when she nodded and stood up, waiting for him. Sendoh gave him a thumbs-up sign.

They walked in tense silence for a few minutes. Ayako then stopped when they arrived at a secluded spot by the seashore where hundreds of little points of light danced around them. "They're lovely, aren't they?" said Ayako, bringing her palm up for a firefly to rest upon. She appeared just like a mythical fairy, her hair full of blinking lights and illuminating everything surrounding her. Miyagi couldn't take his eyes off the wonderful sight.

She motioned for him to sit down beside her. Understanding it as a gesture of encouragement, hope blossomed in the point guard's chest. He was about to apologize when Ayako spoke first.

"I'm sorry for having a go at you yesterday Ryota." said Ayako softly, looking down. Miyagi couldn't believe it, she was the one apologizing to him? 'Ack, what should I do now!' he thought frantically. He gulped and settled to play with the water using his feet to distract him.

She continued. "It's just that…I feel overwhelmed sometimes by your attention. And honestly, I freaked out when I saw all those pictures…" she trailed off. She shook her head. "It was mean for me to yell at you like that." she finished quietly. The point guard was speechless, he never saw this side of the strict manageress before.

Miyagi finally got his voice back. He gazed at her, and he can see she's lost, like him. "I'm sorry too. I…." he faltered again. Ayako looked at him, waiting for his words. The point guard took her hand and stared directly at her eyes, trying to tell her all the emotions he felt. He sang to her softly.

_Sitting at home another lonely night_

_Wish you were here so I could hold you tight _

_Pain in my heart because I'm all alone_

_Why did you leave, why did your love have to go? _

He remembered all the girls he courted before he met Ayako. He was hurt when he was rejected for the 10th time. It gave a major dent in his male ego. But those girls were never really close to him. When he saw the anger in Ayako's eyes, however, he was devastated. The idea of not being in good terms with her, was too painful. She was a nice friend to him, and she encouraged him to be the best, even if she has to whack him in the head with her harisen to do it.

_Thinking of ways that I can win your heart _

_But, I'm so confused I don't know where to start _

_Visions of love forever in my mind _

_I wait for the day when I could say that girl's mine _

_So what can I do to prove I need your love?_

_What will it take because I won't give up _

_Open your heart and let your feelings show _

_Cuz deep down inside my heart just won't let you go _

_So if there ever comes a time _

_When it's truth that you hope to find _

_Just call out my name _

_And girl I swear I would do anything _

'And I thought I was the regular Casanova.' he mused repentantly, finishing the last line.

"I didn't know how to express it to you fully Ayako, but I mean every word, in every letter, in every poem and every song I've given you. I didn't mean to scare you away. I admit, what I did was bordering to stalking…it's just that I thought you'd never give me a chance." said Miyagi quietly. Soon, Miyagi found himself being hugged gently by Ayako.

"I love your song…but you don't need to tell me all that , I know that you do. As for me not giving you a chance, I'll let you in a little secret; I only have one candidate since I only pick the best. He's an excellent basketball player, a point guard, and his name is Ryota Miyagi." she whispered. Ayako pulled back and gave him a sincere smile. Miyagi felt like his heart was doing a victory dance right now. Then Ayako leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. He felt light-headed all of a sudden. The manageress giggled and helped Miyagi steady himself again.

"Let me tell you something Ryota…love is like a firefly, you pursue it and it will keep on evading you…but if keep your mind and heart honest and giving like an open palm, it will come to you willingly." said Ayako delicately, looking at the winged creature at her fingertips. Miyagi could only nod in awe at the girl beside him.

They sat like that, holding hands, just watching the fireflies dance and float in the air.

* * *

"Jin-sempai…Jin-sempai…are you still awake?" whispered Kiyota. The two Kainan players were lying inside their tent, Jin's back facing away from Kiyota. The freshman continued to badger his best friend, poking and tugging at the three-pointer's collar. 

"Huh? What is it?" said Jin, his eyes closed. He turned to face the rookie. He gave a start when he saw the freshman's face was mere inches away from him. 'Kami, good thing it's so dark here.' Jin thought. He blushed.

"Yeah? Can't you sleep?" asked Jin softly.

"No. I was just wondering when we can get out of here." replied Kiyota.

"I don't know either. Maybe tomorrow or something." said Jin, getting more fidgety at their closeness.

"I bet Maki-sempai will rescue us! He'll come and get us out of here for sure." said Kiyota eagerly, his admiration for the MVP clear in his words.

Jin can't help but feel a pang of jealousy for their captain. "Hai. He'll rescue us." answered Jin, barely preventing his voice from cracking.

"We'll just have to wait for him…good night Jin-sempai." said Kiyota. He yawned and turned away.

"Good night Kiyota." said Jin faintly.

* * *

To be continued… 

Opal: So how was it? Good, bad, totally full of mush? Gomen if Rukawa was a no-show here :dodges flying rocks: but he's going play a bigger part in the upcoming chapters.

If you don't know what hernia is, ask and I'll e-mail you about it. Lol. It's a pretty nasty medical malady (usually) for men if you're curious.

As for the firefly quote, I got it from a movie, but I forgot the title. It's not really the quote per se in the flick, I kind of jazzed it up a little bit. :grins:

Pls. REVIEW!


	9. Chapter 9: Day 2: Of Coconuts and Thunde...

Chapter 9: Of Coconuts and Thunderstorms

Warning: OOCness, a little lime (hey, it wasn't my intention! Honest!) our favorite redhead being tormented, a new side to Kiyota, and educational lessons on how the human body works. Lol.

Thank you for those who reviewed! Jayne, Annachan, Hagane, Ami the 13th, and Hikaru Itsuko.

On with the fic!

* * *

"It's official. I'm considered as Kitsune's manservant." fumed Hanamichi, stomping towards Rukawa's tent. Apparently everyone bestowed upon him the responsibility of waking up the ice prince everyday. He wasn't too happy, but he took the job anyway so as to get them off his back. 

"First I saved him from that dumb boat, then I have to make sure he doesn't sleep himself to death! What's next, baby-sit him…?" he ranted on, stopping outside the rookie's tent.

"OI KITSUNE! MOVE YOUR LAZY BUTT AND GET UP!" bellowed Hanamichi. His voice was so loud it scared a few birds away from their roost. It didn't wake up Rukawa though.

Hanamichi growled and went over the tent opening. He nudged the rookie with his foot. No success.

'Now I'm really going to give him a headbutt!' Hanamichi crawled inside the confined space. He was about to give the sleeping form before him a nasty wake-up call when…

"Do'aho." said Rukawa, his deep voice surprising the redhead. He slowly opened his eyes and stared blankly at Hanamichi.

"Teme Kitsune! Were you just pretending to be asleep?" Hanamichi said angrily.

Rukawa said nothing, sat up and shifted nearer to Hanamichi, their noses almost touching. He continued to gaze at the redhead, while the latter didn't notice their closeness. Hanamichi stood his ground and glowered back. A staring/glaring contest ensues.

A few more minutes passed…..

"Hey! What's taking you guys so long?" a voice called out, making Hanamichi break his eye contact.

Kiyota's head popped in, frowning at them. "We're not gonna wait for you two all day you know." he added pompously.

"Who made you the boss, saru?" shot back Hanamichi.

The Kainan rookie ignored him. "What were you dudes doing in there anyway?" He looked at them suspiciously.

"And what the hell does that mean?" retorted Hanamichi. "I woke up Kitsune, what does it look like?"

"Riiiight. Both of you looked like you're going to make out or something." sniggered Kiyota, not convinced at all.

The redhead blushed at the lewd comment. "NANI! Take that back!" shouted Hanamichi. He jumped to his feet and chased after the laughing freshman.

"Itai…" groused Kiyota, gingerly rubbing the lump in his forehead. He scowled at Hanamichi. The redhead smirked in response.

"Daijoubu desu ka?" asked Jin, looking concerned.

"Hai. I'll be fine Jin-san." replied Kiyota. He gave an assuring smile.

"Why did you headbutt Kiyota, Hanamichi?" asked Jin, giving the redhead a hard gaze.

"He annoyed me." answered Hanamichi coolly. He took a swig from a coconut.

"Heck, I saw what I saw. Just admit it." interjected Kiyota. He grinned smugly at Hanamichi.

"URUSAI! Why would I do that?" yelled Hanamichi. He looked positively scandalized.

"You hate because you love…" answered Kiyota in a singsong voice.

"That does it!" roared Hanamichi, lunging forward to strangle the Kainan player.

Suddenly a fan came out of thin air.

WHACK! WHACK!

"ENOUGH!" cried Ayako. She held an improvised harisen menacingly at the two troublemakers. It was made out of compressed coconut leaves, making it harder and more deadly than the original. Everyone cringed at the new disciplinary instrument.

"Can't you two have breakfast without making a show?" reprimanded the manageress.

"Gomen Ayako-sempai…" said Kiyota meekly.

The redhead grumbled and took another sip from a coconut, still dazed from THE FAN episode. All were silent again for a moment.

"Um, Hanamichi, that's your fifth coconut right?" asked Hanagata. He glanced at the grumpy power-forward cautiously, not wanting to provoke his temper again.

"I got thirsty after chasing that nozaru around. Is there a minimum on my beverage intake now?" replied Hanamichi sarcastically.

"No. But you shouldn't drink so much in one sitting, since coconut juice is a potent laxative and diuretic." Hanagata said simply.

"Laxa-what?" demanded the freshman, looking confused.

"It means, you're going to pee more often than usual Hana-kun." pointed out Sendoh, while smiling at the redhead.

"And taking a dump in the woods earlier than expected." added Mitsui. Everyone looked at him in disgust.

"Dude, I'm still eating here!" said Miyagi.

Koshino suddenly lost his appetite. "Could you have put that a little more delicately?" He glared at the three-pointer.

"Sorry. My bad." Mitsui chuckled.

"You still remember that? I'm impressed." said Kogure, his features full of pride for Mitsui.

The former MVP grinned back. "I've memorized all the lessons you taught me." replied Mitsui. He winked, making Kogure flush.

"I don't feel anything funny." cut in Hanamichi. "Kuso!" he exclaimed suddenly, then ran to the forest.

"Better let it all out Hanamichi. Or you'll get UTI or constipation." Hanagata called out after the scampering redhead..

"Could you go after him Rukawa?" requested Fujima. The blue-eyed rookie nodded and followed Hanamichi.

After he left, everyone high-fived the Shoyo captain.

* * *

"Leave me alone! I can't go if someone's watching me!" yelled Hanamichi. He was running away from Rukawa, trying to hide from his prying eyes. 

"Do'aho." muttered Rukawa. He spotted Hanamichi ducking behind a thick tree trunk and crept silently, like a predator tracking his prey. The redhead didn't notice he was already beside him. Hanamichi yelped in surprise.

"Go away! Piss off!" cried Hanamichi, doing a kind of ceremonial dance. He needed to pee, now!

Rukawa laughed inwardly at the comment. "Shouldn't you be the one pissing off?"

"Damn it! You know what I mean!" Hanamichi gritted his teeth.

"Okay. Whatever." said Rukawa, rolling his eyes. He turned his back at him.

Hanamichi would've insisted on Rukawa to keep his distance a good 1-mile radius from him, but his full bladder (the size of Australia by now) prevented that. Without any further ado, he let the dogs out. (I can't think of another euphemism. Hehe )

Rukawa was trying his best not to hear the loud, steady rush of water coming from the redhead. His already frenzied hormones went into overdrive when Hanamichi emitted a groan of relief.

'Chikuso! Got to control myself…' mused Rukawa. He thought about basketball and sleeping to push away hentai images from forming. ( Sendoh: And they say I'm a pervert…:shakes head:)

The torture went on, since Hanamichi kept emptying his bladder every few minutes. The two stayed there all morning, Rukawa battling with himself while the redhead yapped about nosy Kitsunes and stupid coconuts.

Meanwhile the two Kainan players were strolling along the foliage also. Jin wanted to show his best friend a lagoon he discovered yesterday.

"Look Jin-san, it's the saru." said Kiyota. He pointed at Hanamichi, sprinting as if his life depended on it.

Jin caught a blur of red hair jumping behind a bush for camouflage. Rukawa bounded after him. A string of curses from Hanamichi followed.

Kiyota and Jin doubled over, laughing their heads off.

"Hahaha…those guys…haha…sure make an odd…couple…" gasped Kiyota.

"Hai..." said Jin. He watched the redhead bolt for his freedom again, Rukawa at his heels. 'At least Rukawa shows he's interested in Hanamichi…' he mused. He smiled at Kiyota wistfully.

* * *

The lagoon was located at the other end of the island. They entered a large hole connected to a spacious cave at the side of a rocky mountain Fortunately it was low tide, or the whole site would be completely flooded. There was another hole at the middle of the cave ceiling, giving the interior moderate lighting. Like all the bodies of water in the island, it was clear, deep and breathtaking. 

"This is awesome Jin-san!" beamed Kiyota. He kneeled beside the water and skimmed his fingers at the surface. The two watched with fascination as the tiny ripples grew in size.

"I knew you'd like it." replied Jin softly. He watched in amusement as the younger boy quickly stripped off his shirt and sandals and dived without hesitation.

"Whoo! It's a little cold, but the water's fine!" shouted Kiyota, beckoning the three-pointer to join him.

Jin blushed and slowly removed his shirt. He too jumped, the frigid water stinging his bare skin.

"It's freezing…" mumbled Jin, his teeth chattering.

"Here." Kiyota ushered Jin towards the middle where the sunlight streamed in. The freshman waited patiently for his sempai's body temperature to get used to the water.

"Better?"

Jin nodded.

"Wanna play tag?" grinned Kiyota.

"Sure."

"TAG! You're it!" exclaimed Kiyota, and quickly swam away from Jin.

"No fair!" laughed Jin, and went after him.

Hanamichi finally finished doing his err, "business". He was about to dash off to escape Rukawa once more but stopped himself from doing so. 'Why the hell am I running away from Kitsune anyway?' He scratched his head, chibi-style. He turned to face Rukawa.

"Nyahahaha! Super Tensai Sakuragi will not flee again! I'm not afraid of you Kitsune! The Super Tensai is never afraid!" he said defiantly, while doing the Tensai pose.

Rukawa looked at him dumbly.

"Do'aho. Why did you run in the first place?"

"I told you, I can't pee if someone's watching me! Don't you know how to respect a Tensai's privacy?" retorted Hanamichi.

Rukawa said nothing. He wasn't ready to admit he cared for the redhead's safety. Not yet anyway.

He felt something wet land on his head.

"Kuso." muttered Hanamichi. He jogged again to seek for cover, leaving Rukawa behind.

Jin shivered. The water became colder all of a sudden and the cave went dark. He squinted his eyes, trying to look for his best friend. He heard thunder, followed by a roaring noise. Then rainwater flowed inside the cave at an alarming rate.

Kiyota at that time was swimming at the middle, the hole of the cave ceiling directly above him. He gave a startled cry before the water overwhelmed him completely.

Jin screamed, then dived swiftly to rescue Kiyota before he reached the deep bottom of the lagoon. He managed to get them both out of the turbulent water, and out of harm's way. The freshman coughed out a mouthful, while Jin patted him in the back.

"Are you alright? I thought you were done for. " said Jin quietly, trembling from the shock and cold.

"I'm fine…just got my wind knocked out of me for a minute there…arigato for saving me Jin-san." said Kiyota, his voice hoarse. He saw that the older boy was shivering. "You're cold…you need to dry yourself up." said the rookie gently. He got up and looked for their towels and dry clothing they brought along. Alas, those items got swept away by the sudden downpour.

"Gomen Jin-san, but our clothes are missing. And it looks like the rain won't let up soon, so we're have to stay here for a while." said the freshman, his tone apologetic.

"It's not your fault. I never should've suggested coming here in the first place." replied Jin sadly. His body was shaking uncontrollably now.

Kiyota sat beside him and opened his arms for the three-pointer. Jin felt his cheeks going hot. "No really, you don't need to do that..." he stuttered.

"You need heat Jin-san, your lips are turning blue from the cold. It's dangerous." said Kiyota sternly.

Jin let Kiyota wrap his arms around him in a tight embrace. He wanted to thank Kami for letting him experience how wonderful it was to be held by the younger boy, while desperately wishing he had one of his sweaters on him right now. Now he knew why his mother insisted on bringing half of his wardrobe along. Too bad his baggage was at the bottom of the ocean…

"I always had a low tolerance for the cold." muttered Jin.

"Well, you know what that means…" Kiyota trailed off.

"What?"

"You destined to be with someone who will always keep you warm." replied Kiyota softly. He brushed his lips over Jin's ear and whispered. "Someone like me."

Jin felt his pulse quicken considerably. He couldn't differentiate whose heart pounded louder, his or Kiyota's.

"But I thought you always had a crush on Maki-san." said Jin weakly, not daring to believe it.

"You're not jealous of Maki-san, are you?" asked Kiyota. He snickered.

"He's the MVP, the captain of the strongest basketball team, he's good-looking…he's got everything…" Jin prattled on.

"But not me." interjected Kiyota cheekily. Jin almost laughed.

Kiyota went on. "I look up to him as my mentor. He's like a big brother to me." He looked at Jin, who still looked doubtful. He sighed and continued.

"He's the one who encouraged me to tell my feelings for you. Why do you think we had a boat cruise in the first place? He suggested it in my behalf." He smiled at the older boy affectionately. Jin was speechless.

"I guess you still need time to think ne?" said Kiyota, letting go of Jin.

"Why me Kiyota?"

"You're the one who truly knows who I am. Not even Maki-san does." replied Kiyota simply.

The Kainan rookie found himself being hugged tenderly by Jin.

"Arigato…for choosing me…" breathed Jin.

* * *

The rain stopped and the Kainan players went back to the campsite. When they arrived, it was almost dark. 

"What happened to you two?" said Fujima, looking anxious.

After Kiyota told the whole story, Fujima gathered the lot for an announcement.

"No one is going to wander far anymore from the campsite. Everyone must ask my permission first if you plan on going to the forest. From now on, I'm assigning a partner for each, and you must always go where the other goes. Is that clear?" said Fujima seriously. Hanamichi howled in protest.

"What is this, martial law? What ever happened to freedom of speech? Democracy? I object!" yelled the infuriated redhead. He earned a whack from the Harisen of Doom again.

Other than Hanamichi, everyone nodded in agreement.

* * *

To be continued…….. 

Opal: If any Australian is reading this, no offense if I used your country in the story.

UTI: Urinary Tract Infection (self-explanatory)

Now, I'm off to make my list of "What I've Learned Out of 6 Months of Summer Vacation". I always do it the week before classes, and I'm not the type to break tradition.

Hanamichi: Hey! Don't leave us hanging here too long:shakes fist: I can't take Kitsune anymore!

Opal: Hey, I always finish what I start, so be patient with me. Rukawa, take care of Hana while I'm away will you?

Rukawa: My pleasure. :hentai smirk:

Hanamichi: Damn it:runs away:

Rukawa:chases after Hana:

Okay…make my day and push the little button there… REVIEW!


	10. Chapter 10: Day 3: Platonic

Chapter 10: Plato-nic

Warning: OOCness (again! No way am I going to make them otherwise!), a little angst, okay maybe a tad more of it than usual.

I'm back:Tensai pose: Your reviews really encouraged me to update faster. I don't know how I'd manage without you people, so keep on supporting me through this fic ne?

A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed!

To dragon dreams: Arigato for the nice comment!

To Annachan: Kitsune duties….lol.

To Hagane: Hope your head is okay now mate. Next time, please warn me first before your noggin erupts and you get knocked out. I don't want learn you bit the dust due to blood loss because of too much chatting with me so early in the morning.

To anime-luverjc: I appreciate your words of encouragement. For the Filipino pride!

To Hikaru Itsuko: Yay! Go RuHana!

To chris37: I didn't call this fic Stuck With You for nothing! Glue is an understatement, more like Supah Glue 3X.

To Ami the 13th: Wait no more! The Tensai is here! Nyahahaha :cough: Just kidding.

To Seonaid Mist: You're playing with me…lol.

To Crescent Quetzacoatl: Ru ain't such a bad guy, and I'm gonna make him loosen up more…:evil laugh: Good luck on your collaboration in "The Nightingale Sings".

To amazingpinoy: Keep on reading AND reviewing then. Salamat!

To armie santos: Thank you for clarifying me about your fic. I hope you continue it soon.

This is my first time to write POV's (just short ones though). I've been experimenting all this time throughout this fic, from dialogue, narrative, descriptive, songfics and other stuff. Kinda like a prototype for my future projects you see. Anyways, hope you people still like it!

Tsukiyadente: Give me an effing break! (I dunno if this is right. lol)

On with the fic!

* * *

**_RUKAWA'S POV_**

I think fate gets a kick out of screwing with my life.

Here I am, inside a cramped tent with the boy of my dreams and stranded in a godforsaken island until who knows how long, with nothing to distract me from jumping on him. I remember a guy named after a piece of dinnerware saying something about love being a grave mental disease. For someone who lived eons ago, he was sure damn straight to the point. I lost my mind when I fell for this beautiful, but brainless, do'aho….

Shoot. I made a mistake by looking at him again, just lying there (not to mention in a spread-eagled position too :drool:) peacefully, not giving a damn about the world. Or me.

I couldn't help it. I just had to touch him.

I reached out, and carefully skimmed his face, tracing the soft features, his lips, nose, eyes. I didn't know I could be so bold, since every time he's awake I morph into a quaking mass of goo inside despite the composed façade I always display for everyone to see.

I marveled at the perfection that is Hanamichi. I heard myself let out a small gasp when the sleeping angel unconsciously moved closer to my hand, seeking my touch.

Kami-sama….

Rukawa felt hot all of a sudden. His heart slammed in his throat, and he quickly withdrew his hand, as if Hanamichi's skin against his pained him. He didn't trust himself enough to be so near the redhead, so he scooted away quietly from the prone figure, careful not to wake him up.

Once outside, Rukawa gave out a loud "whoosh" of air. He didn't realize he stopped breathing.

What a laugh. I didn't realize it, but my shoulders are shaking from mirth at the ridiculous situation I've put myself into. What's more, I don't see why the hell I find it funny.

'Great. The great Ice Prince of Kanagawa, is a afraid of a do'aho. I'm really losing it.'

Rukawa decided to walk along the seashore. Wallowing in his own self-pity was really not his style. Heck, he still got some of his pride left in him.

He walked aimlessly along the beach back and forth, listening to the waves crashing against the shore. It managed to calm him a little.

Rukawa caught sight of Ryonan's ace fishing again at his usual spot on his way back to camp. Sendoh also spotted the rookie, and waved at him to come and chat. Seeing that it's better than going back to the tent where Hanamichi was, he went over to Sendoh.

"Morning Ru! Did you and Hana have fun last night?" said Sendoh impishly. He gave a roguish wink.

Rukawa gave him a cold glare in reply.

"Aw Ru, you can tell me anything you know." Sendoh said, giving the freshman an adorable pout.

"Urusai. Nothing happened." said Rukawa curtly, his voice clearly bitter.

"Doesn't look like it. Man, you look terrible! I bet you two didn't sleep at all last night!" chuckled Sendoh. He didn't notice that Rukawa was now seething with anger. The rookie really liked to flog Sendoh to death. Now.

"Okay. I'll stop." laughed Sendoh, seeing that Rukawa was going to snap any second. He's still too young and good-looking to die. He smirked at the furious rookie.

"Why didn't you make a move on him?

"None of your business."

"You know, you really need some tutoring in your people skills Ru." smiled Sendoh.

"I don't care."

"You didn't answer my first question Ru."

"Don't call me Ru."

Sendog sighed at the way the conversation was going.

"Okay, I won't call you Ru. But why didn't you make a move on him last night? All of us already helped you to snag Hana."

"Don't call Hanamichi Hana." replied Rukawa dangerously.

"Damn, you're stubborn as a mule, you know that?" Sendoh said playfully.

"Hn."

"I'm not going to let my question go Rukawa…"

'Kuso! This guy is annoying….' sighed Rukawa. "He fell asleep." said the rookie in a monotone.

Sendoh sweatdropped.

_FLASHBACK_

"I have to share a tent with Kitsune? TSUKIYADENTEEEEEEEEEEE!" roared Hanamichi. Everyone covered their ears at the redhead's outburst. The scream went on for a few more minutes.

Seeing that they were serious in making him stay with his sworn enemy, Hanamichi ran for it. He didn't even get to three steps when Rukawa tackled him to the ground. Ryota, Mitsui, Sendoh, and Kiyota followed, and jumped on top of the other, football style.

Fujima was shaking his head.

"This is for you own good Sakuragi." said Fujima sweetly. The smile that Fujima gave the redhead gave everyone goose bumps. It was charming yet diabolical at the same time, like he had a plan up his sleeve. Hanagata looked at him with apprehension.

"Since you have a habit of running away Sakuragi, I really have to assign you a permanent partner from now own." added Fujima. No brainer who he got there.

Hanamichi threw one hell of a fit after that. Somehow Ayako managed to convince the redhead to be Rukawa's tent mate and call it a night (one guess how she did that :snicker:). He promptly got knocked out as soon as he crawled inside, much to the rookie's dismay.

_END OF FLASHBACK_

"You know, you should drop more hints at him." said the older ace, snapping Rukawa out of his daze. That got his attention.

"I don't need your advice." said Rukawa flatly. His eyes told Sendoh otherwise.

"First off, stop calling him do'aho."

"Do'aho." Rukawa looked at Sendoh like he was nuts. It was like telling him not to breathe.

"And stop being so unfriendly. He'd like you more if you talk, rather than insult him."

"….."

"And show him that you like him, you know, by flirting with him or something. The works." Sendoh gave Rukawa a knowing smirk.

"……………………………..."

"You get what I'm saying?"

Rukawa shrugged. 'It could work….wait. Why am I taking Sendoh's advice? Chikuso!'

He got up and left. Sendoh was making his morning lousier than it needed to be.

Koshino watched the two handsome aces talk. Or rather, Sendoh talk. He looked away. Seeing his best friend being friendly with the ice prince didn't bother him one bit. Nu uh. Nil. Nada.

Too bad the word denial isn't part of Koshino's vocabulary.

* * *

_Sundown…._

Everyone was gathered at the fire again, since Fujima, Ayako, and the rest of the seniors insisted that all stayed after dinner for their "bonding" and "getting to know each other better" time. Either that or get whacked by THE FAN senseless that is.

Hanamichi was glaring at Rukawa and everybody. Rukawa was glowering at Sendoh while gazing longingly at the redhead. Koshino was giving dagger looks at the Ryonan's ace, while Sendoh was being his usual over-cheery self, immune to the glaring onslaught.

Miyagi and Ayako were oblivious, just smiling at each other and holding hands. Jin was fondly ruffling Kiyota's hair, making it more unruly than usual. The Kainan rookie didn't mind though, he was practically purring at Jin's ministrations. Kogure was looking at them all, an amused expression in his features while Mitsui was trying to get his attention. Fujima was staring at nothing, absently sifting sand in his hands. Hanagata was giving him odd looks, thinking the Shoyo captain had finally flipped. Sendoh coughed.

"Anyone up for scary stories again?" asked Sendoh, flashing him famous grin.

'Gads, not this again.' "I think Toru and I will pass. We have something to discuss." said the Shoyo captain swiftly. He nodded at the taller boy beside him.

"Suit yourselves. If you want to know the ending, just tell me." Sendoh called after them.

A few minutes passed, and the two Shoyo players were walking without talking to each other. Hanagata was wondering why Fujima had been in a withdrawn, mellow mood ever since they came into the island. He just followed his best friend obediently. He will get the answers anyway, sooner or later.

"Feeling adventurous today Toru-kun?" said Fujima suddenly. They stopped at the foot of a small mountain.

'Toru-kun?' thought Hanagata. His cheeks reddened a little.

Fujima didn't wait for his answer. "Let's climb up. I reckon the view at the top is great." He started to scale the mountain slope without looking back, sure that Hanagata will follow him.

"Why are we here Kenji?" asked Hanagata curiously. They were at the top of the small peak, everything around them bare, except a few trees.

Fujima sat down on the soft blanket of grass. He looked at the sun going down the horizon, the sky bathed with red-orange glow. "Just thought we skywatch a little. It's been a while." replied Fujima simply. He patted the ground beside him, motioning for the tall center to sit.

"And I thought you were just trying to escape from Sendoh's campfire stories." joked Hanagata.

Fujima chuckled. "Yeah. That too."

They just sat there, looking at the sun disappear, then being replaced by stars. Then Fujima spoke up.

"Stargazing is so much better here. Back home, there's too much light in the city so you really can't make out the constellations." The Shoyo point guard lain down and rested his arm behind his head. "They are beautiful, aren't they?"

"Yeah…but I never really took the time to look at them though. I don't know what constellations are, or whatever balls of light up there." replied Hanagata dismally.

"I'll teach you some if you want." Fujima said softly. He slowly traced the heavens with his index finger for Hanagata to follow.

True enough, there were millions, maybe billions of stars displayed at the sky. It was as if that particular spot was where all the celestial bodies come out to parade all their shining glory….

"That's the constellation Centaurus, see that one that looks like a steed? He's not really a horse, but half-man and half-horse and extremely wise…to your right is Coma Berenices or Berenice's Hair, legends say that her hair is so striking that Venus, the goddess of beauty, placed it in the sky for everyone to admire…due south, there, the one that looks like a fancy doughnut with red rims at the edges and blue-green in the middle is actually the Helix Nebula, the nearest planetary nebula to the earth…."

Fujima pointed out numerous constellations, nebulas, supernovas, galaxies and planets, as if he knew them by second nature. He never saw Fujima this relaxed and enjoying himself. Hanagata was impressed, and his interest in the heavenly bodies grew each passing second. It was like he was being sucked into the myths and into outer space, with the way Fujima was explaining everything…he looked at the boy beside him with admiration. Then Fujima stopped abruptly and went silent.

"Is something wrong?" asked Hanagata worriedly. He propped himself up to get a better look at Fujima.

"Iye…just thought I'm probably boring you to tears." said Fujima. He looked away, pulling out tufts of grass to occupy him.

"Never."

Fujima smiled.

"How do you know all this stuff?" asked Hanagata, seeing the faraway look in the Shoyo captain.

"It's a relaxing hobby… just looking out there, where everything just goes out forever and ever…" Fujima trailed off. "It kind of makes me think about lots of things….am I making sense?" He gave a laugh. "I'm so confused nowadays." He smiled wryly, giving the impression of the once proud basketball captain of being like a lost child.

Hanagata shifted nearer and put a comforting arm around the smaller boy's shoulders.

"We've been together since preschool…but now we're graduating this year and going into our separate ways, I'm going to Tokyo University and you're staying here. We will not get to see each other much anymore…" Fujima sighed.

"You know, people tease us all the time that we are like husband and wife, since they always see us together. How about proving them wrong for once?" said Hanagata. He laughed inwardly, despite his own suggestion hurt him. A lot.

"Jokes are half-meant Toru-kun…" Fujima said softly.

"What do you mean?"

"You asked me three days ago if this whole cruise business is related to our loss to Shohoku." stated Fujima. He closed his eyes. 'I know I can do this….' he mused, gathering all his courage. "That game made me realize a lot. That we can't play basketball forever. We can't win all the time. That everything changes."

Hanagata squinted behind his lenses, willing them to look at the smaller boy's expression. The only light they had was little, so he can't really see what's going through Fujima.

"I don't regret what happened in that game Toru. Being a coach and a captain taught me that. I know the whole Shoyo team did their best, you did your best. But still, I can't help feel responsible, if only I entered earlier, if only I guarded Miyagi better, if only…."

Hanagata cut in. "You're the finest point guard and coach that Shoyo has ever seen, and that's something not everybody can accomplish. Our loss didn't make you any lesser." said Hanagata firmly. A pause.

"Besides, there's still the Winter Games. We're not going to lose this time, I'll make sure of that." He gave Fujima a squeeze.

Fujima bit his lip. He looked doubtful.

"I feel you're not telling me everything Kenji. You've been acting strange ever since we got here."

Fujima fell silent. He stayed like that for a long time, Hanagata thought he fell asleep. Out of the blue, Fujima spoke again.

"Would you still be my best friend if I tell you the truth? Truly?"

Hanagata nodded without hesitation.

"You want to know why I made those rules for Sakuragi and Rukawa? I see potential, and they just need a little push to realize it. They would make a great couple and they will be happy. I'm envious of them." said Fujima wistfully.

Hanagata was taken aback at the sudden change of subject. Why was he anxious all of a sudden?

"I've always wondered why you never had a girlfriend Fujima. Anyone would love to be with you." Hanagata grimaced. My, he was being hypocrite to himself today.

Fujima looked at the bespectacled boy pleadingly. "I'm already happy just being your friend Toru." He took Hanagata's hands in his and clasped them tightly.

"I love you, more than a friend should. And I'm sorry for feeling this way, and for telling you this. I just want to straighten this between us before I go away."

Fujima stood up, but Hanagata didn't let go. He pulled the shorter boy to him in a hug. He rested his head on top of Fujima's, burying his nose on the point guard's soft hair.

"You don't need to be jealous of them Kenji. You have me. You always did." mumbled Hanagata. He felt Fujima's lithe arms returning his embrace.

"Promise?"

"Always."

"You better not find anyone to replace me while I'm gone." said Fujima sternly, back in his dreaded coach mode again. Hanagata gave a chuckle.

"I won't…..coach."

* * *

To be continued…………. 

Gads, this chapter is longer than I expected and full of angst. Seniors really have a lot in their minds about college and leaving their friends behind so I figured that must be the conflict going through Fujima. :shrugs:

For the Saiyuki fans reading this, you'd know I used the idea of husband and wife from the canon paring (those two are really obvious! Come on! yaoi in the Gaiden is practically dancing the tango there!) Tenpou and Kenren. Those two really look cute together. Wahaha, my overactive yaoi-crammed mind is going ballistic just thinking about that…..

I give credit to Kazuya Minekura for creating such an excellent anime and the witty comments by the characters.

As for the stars and stuff in here, it's the only thing in the world (besides fishing) that's considered as a hobby even if all you do is lounge around doing nothing. How cool is that :laughs: Anyway, the constellations and nebula mentioned here are shown in different seasons, so if ever you want to check it out, wait for it a few months.

For Rukawa mentioning a guy named after a piece of dinnerware, for the Filipinos, you should get my drift right away. In Tagalog, plates are called PLATOS. Get it? Arrrgh, I'm getting lame…….

Okay, I should put some of my references here in case anyone accuses me of plagiarism or something.

Plato: "Love is a grave mental disease" 427-347 B.C.

(Love Quotation, A Collection of Romantic Pictures and the Best Love Quotes; published 1992)

Practical Skywatching; published 2002

Opal: And so the plot thickens……… :evil laugh:

SD gang: She's gone nuts…..:edges away from author:

Sorry if I got too philosophical there….ack, my head hurts from thinking too deep…..really, having too much time in my hands makes me (or anyone, believe me) zany. Hehe.

Pls. REVIEW!


	11. Chapter 11: Day 4: Lemons Anyone?

Chapter 10: Lemons Anyone?

Warning: OOCness (come on, like I make them normal in the first place!)

A/N: No leeches were harmed in the making of this fic. Not as much humor as the previous chapters, but this is where Hana finally notices Ru. And more of the Kitsune's hentainess :evil laugh:

I am really, really, sorry for the late update. I have no excuse. Go ahead, throw rocks at me. I deserve it. I must have scrapped five versions of this chapter already. Stupid writer's block…

Hopefully I'll finish it this year, since my momentum is back. Mind you, I'm also writing another fic, "Double Trouble" so it might take longer than usual. So what else is new? Ehehehe…

Thank you for those who reviewed! Namely, AmYa, Kitten of Destruction, Rumiko Nadijima, zagato, Fujiko-chan, gm kerosuke jin, Annachan, Akemichan, HAS, Am1-13th, Crescent Quetzalcoatl, .Hagane, and shadowaureous

To Rumiko Nadijima: Yeah, Sendoh is a just a misunderstood guy. That's why we love him so much!

To Kitten of Destruction: Glad you like it!

To Fujiko-chan: Thank you!

To Akemichan: I know this is pretty late, but I apologize with all my heart for the late update. :puppy dog eyes: Please forgive this bad author's abysmal writing habits.

To Crescent: Coerce…I like that word…hehehe.

To gm kerosuke jin: You know Sendoh. He's just being friendly, but Kosh always thinks that he is flirting. He's just as possessive of his best friend, just as Ru for Hana.

To AmYa: If it wasn't for your review, this fic would've been stuck in chap. 10 forever. Thank you.

On with the fic!

* * *

_**HANAMICHI'S POV**_

I can't believe this is happening to me.

I'm inside a small tent with Kitsune and I can hardly move without touching him somewhere. Kami, what have I done to deserve this? What if we're never rescued? Am I to spend eternity marooned in this stupid island?

And I have a hunch those bakas are up to something big. They know something I don't (though that rarely happens to me mind you. I'm a Tensai after all.)…especially Benchwarmer. He keeps bossing me around to be with Kitsune. What is up with that? It's like he wants me and Rukawa to be together or something. Yeah right...

First off, Kitsune is a jerk. And a walking ice block to boot. He never talks…well maybe a little. Like 10 words per day. Maybe he has a quota for it, but that's not the point. He's my enemy because he keeps on getting Haruko-san's attention. What does he have that I don't anyway? I'm handsome, I'm awesome at basketball, and a Tensai too. Did I mention that I'm a Tensai?

Though I got to admit that he got me beat when it comes to the eyes department. I've never seen such a brilliant shade of blue…

Wait. What the hell? Undo! Undo! Erase!

Fine, I admit that he's good-looking. Aesthetically speaking that is. Not that I'm attracted to him or anything…

Hanamichi glanced at the sleeping boy beside him.

Yeah…not attracted at all.

Rukawa then suddenly stirred in his sleep. Hanamichi automatically scooted away as far from his nemesis as much as the cramped space allowed him to. But Rukawa had other ideas. He snuggled closer to the warmth, nearer Hanamichi. The redhead tried to get up in a sitting position, but in a flash Rukawa was already half on top of him.

"Baka Kitsune, invading my personal space again," grumbled Hanamichi. He tried to wriggle out underneath, but to no avail. He glared with all his might, hoping it will wake Rukawa up. No such luck. Out of nowhere, he heard something.

'_This feels nice…' _a voice in the back of his head told him.

What the..?

'_It's not! He's getting his Kitsune germs all over me!_' whined another voice, his rational side. It didn't sound so sure though.

'_Are you sure about that? Or is it one of your lame excuses again?" _retorted the other one in a matter-of-fact tone. He could picture the voice, if it ever had a face, it would be smirking like a Cheshire cat right now. _'Go on, live in your little world of denial my __friend," _it added.

'_Shut up shut up shut up! Leave me alone!' _yelled his rational side. It was obviously running out of witty comebacks.

'_Just admit that you like being in this position_…' said the smug voice again. Hanamichi swore that it just giggled.

That was just plain disturbing.

He squirmed again but not so much. He didn't want to wake Rukawa up. But he didn't know how much more he could take of feeling Rukawa's body pressed against his either.

Hold it. Since when did I care if I wake him up or not? Baka Kitsune, even asleep you manage to confuse the Tensai!

Hanamichi promptly shoved Rukawa away from him. He then went out of their tent swiftly, clearly wigged out.

Thankfully he saw the others were awake now. They were all huddled together, arguing about something. The Shohoku vice-captain was the first one to spot him.

"Good morning Hanamichi. Are you alright? You look a little pale," said Kogure concernedly.

"Rukawa probably freaked him out again. They're totally hopeless." Mitsui snickered. That got everybody's attention. All eyes then focused on the hapless redhead.

"Teme! Why is everybody pairing me up with that Kitsune?" fumed Sakuragi, looking at their amused faces.

"Just leave him alone guys. He's got enough on his plate already," interrupted Sendoh. The redhead shot him a grateful look. "Besides, he'll figure it out soon enough." He grinned at Hanamichi cheekily.

"What's going on in here anyway?" asked Hanamichi, desperate to change the subject.

"We're trying to figure out Sendoh's magic luggage," pointed out Miyagi. He eyed the suitcase skeptically. "Maybe it's a dud."

"No it' not. Look, it's still beeping," countered Sendoh.

"I think you only bought this luggage because it looks cool," Koshino said, blunt as always.

Sendoh had the grace to look embarrassed. "I reckon they're only taking their sweet time in rescuing us. What's the rush anyway?" he said casually.

Koshino then fished out a phone from one of the luggage's innumerable secret pockets. He switched it on, and was dismayed to find it didn't have any signal. Ryonan's small forward looked like he was capable of committing homicide that moment. He rounded on Sendoh.

"You didn't even know you had a phone all this time?"

Sendoh's survival instinct kicked in, and he unconsciously started backing away from the infuriated boy slowly. "Um, maybe? I haven't read the manual of this thing yet," he said sheepishly. It only vexed Koshino further. Things were about to get ugly with the two, until Kiyota butted in.

"This thing comes with a manual? What a spiffy luggage," he whistled, looking at the beeping contraption with interest. "Maybe I can work on its homing device. I'm pretty good with this kind of stuff," he continued, puffing his chest out proudly.

Hanamichi coughed, which sounded a lot like the word geek.

"Well at least I have something inside my head besides air," snapped Kiyota.

"Nani? Say that again!" said Hanamichi, shaking a fist. He strode over Kiyota give him a headbutt, but Ayako whacked him with THE FAN before he could grab the messy-haired freshman.

"Itai!"

"Sendoh, why don't you and Sakuragi just go at the falls? I heard you talking about it earlier," interjected Fujima. "While you guys are there, we'll help Kiyota figure out how to work this thing so we can get out of here."

Hanamichi groaned. "Let me guess, you're going to insist on Kitsune coming with me too right?" He was beginning to hate that smile Benchwarmer always puts on whenever he's scheming something.

"How ever did you know?" replied Fujima innocently. The rest of the group sniggered. Hanamichi ignored them.

"Do you want to come with me Hiro-kun?" asked Sendoh gently. Kosino grunted in response.

"I'm only coming with you because I need to find a signal," said the small forward, still clutching the phone.

Sweatdrop.

"Er, right. Kogure-san, could you accompany them? I don't want anyone getting lost or anything," requested the Shoyo captain. Kogure nodded.

* * *

And so there they were, the six of them (including Mitsui. He didn't want his Min-kun to be left alone handling the two troublemakers) trudging along the woods. They were having a hard time getting through the dense vegetation.

"Damn, is it me or are the plants here chugging down fertilizer?" complained Mitsui. He ducked to avoid a low-lying branch. Doing that, he didn't notice an exposed tree root. He stumbled a little, but Kogure managed to catch him in time before he got acquainted with the forest floor.

"Thanks," mumbled Mitsui. Kogure just smiled and continued walking.

Meanwhile our beloved redhead was also having trouble keeping up with rest of the group. The ground was covered with dew, making it more slippery than usual. Gravity seemed to revel in tormenting him.

"Itai…," groused Sakuragi. He cursed Fujima to the deepest pits of hell for suggesting such a dumb idea. He took the hand being offered to him without thinking, and came face to face with Rukawa.

"Do'aho. Be careful," said Rukawa tonelessly. He waited for the redhead to say his usual snide remark, but none came. Hanamichi was just staring at him.

'Those eyes…I feel like I'm drowning in them…,' thought Hanamichi. He didn't know how long the two of them just stood there, as if time stopped that moment.

Rukawa watched the redhead shake his head, like he was waking himself from a dream. He let go of Rukawa's hand, and hurried after the others acting like nothing happened. The blue-eyed rookie sighed dejectedly.

"Any luck yet getting a signal Hiro-kun?" said Sendoh. Koshino appeared not to hear him, so he craned his neck get a better look. "Oh snap, still nothing. Don't you just hate that?" He gave Koshino a sympathetic look.

"Akira, why do I have the feeling that you don't want to go home in the first place?" Koshino growled, his temper flaring again.

"I do. I'm just having a blast in this place that's all," said the ace of Ryonan, talking as if it was the most reasonable argument in the world. "It's not everyday we get to be stranded in an untouched island," he added. Koshino looked at him incredulously.

"Did I ever tell you that you're insane?"

"Many times," replied Sendoh, without missing a beat.

* * *

At last they finally arrived at their destination. Seeing the waterfalls again, they all agreed it was worth the long trek. It was stunning and more breathtaking than ever.

Sendoh and Sakuragi jumped into the pool without preamble. They started racing around and throwing water at each other. Rukawa just rolled his eyes at their childish behavior, miffed that Sendoh was getting chummy with the redhead again.

"This is great. Come join me Hiro-kun!" yelled Sendoh excitedly.

Koshino wrinkled his nose. "Are you kidding me? Fish _spawn_ in there." He sat down near the edge, Mitsui and Kogure doing the same. Rukawa settled on a soft patch of grass, away from the water.

'Now is the time to make my move,' thought Mitsui. He had been waiting for the perfect moment to confess, and felt like bursting soon if he didn't tell the vice-captain his feelings.

"Do you feel something Mitsui?" said Kogure suddenly, as if he read Mitsui's mind. The three-pointer grinned, happy that he and the vice-captain were on the same page.

"I feel something all right. I…"

Kogure didn't seem to be listening to him. "I think something is in the water."

Mitsui visibly deflated. "Oh I thought you were talking about something else..." He was about say more, but got interrupted again.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" screamed Koshino.

Sendoh hurriedly swam towards his best friend. "What's wrong Hiro-kun?"

Koshino started to point at his legs frantically. He saw little liver-colored worms.

"Awesome! You have leeches," said Sendoh excitedly. "I always wanted one of these as a pet," he continued, grinning. Moments later, he heard Sakuragi and Mitsui yelling too.

The redhead was instantly out of the water, running around in circles. Rukawa tried to calm him down, but Hanamichi was busy trying to flick off the nasty little bloodsuckers crawling all over his body.

"How do you get rid of these things?" shouted Mitsui, panicking.

Sendoh thought for a while, not caring that the leeches were swimming straight at him. "Well, we have three options: we either burn them off, scrape them off, or wait for them to be full and then they'll fall off by themselves. Take your pick," he said nonchalantly. "You don't happen to have a lighter in your person Mitsui-sempai?" He gave the three-pointer a meaningful look. Mitsui glared back.

Rukawa cut in. "What, until they grow into blimps? I don't think so," he said sarcastically. The group stared at him, amazed. Sendoh clapped his hands in delight.

"Hey, you just said ten words in a row! Glad you're taking my advice Ru," said Sendoh, giving the pissed-off freshman a thumbs-up sign.

"No Sendoh, I don't have my flamethrower…er, I mean lighter with me," said Mitsui, irritated. "Damn it, why does everyone think I'm some kind of psychotic pyromaniac?"

"Well you did try to set our school on fire last year," pointed out Kogure.

Mitsui went bright red, the leeches completely forgotten. "Nani? How did you know?"

"I just happened to be at the right place at the right time," fibbed the vice-captain. Mitsui didn't look convinced at all.

"Lying is so not your forte Kogure."

"Fine. I followed you. I was the one who notified the teachers too," stated Kogure. He looked at the three-pointer defiantly.

"Didn't you trust me back then?" Mitsui looked genuinely hurt. He couldn't help but feel a little betrayed.

"You were hanging out with bad company. You could've been expelled. What else did you want me to do?" replied Kogure, clearly agitated.

Sendoh butted in. "So…I guess you don't have a lighter then Mitsui-san?"

"NO!" shouted Mitsui and Kogure at the same time.

"Good thing because I really think it's inhumane to do that. They need to feed after all," said Sendoh, as if he didn't witness the verbal sparring between the seniors. The ace of Ryonan then took out a small knife from his pocket. He had a bunch of lemons in his other hand.

"What are you going to do?" Koshino looked at the knife nervously. He didn't like the maniacal look on Sendoh's face.

"You want the knife or the lemons?" asked Sendoh. He said it in such a way as if he was asking if he wanted some sugar with his tea. "I forgot lemon juice is an effective leech repellant too." He made no move in taking off the bloodsuckers though. "Do you know that leeches are used until today to treat black eyes?" he continued conversationally.

"Akira, I'm going to give you more than a black eye if you don't get these things off me!" bellowed Koshino. That got Sendoh's attention. He quickly sliced the lemons in half and tossed some to Mitsui and Rukawa.

As Sendoh squeezed some lemon juice on his feet, Koshino felt like he was one of those fish being marinated. They watched with morbid fascination as the worms dropped one by one, writhing in agony.

Rukawa was having a hard time getting them off the redhead though. 'Funny I always imagined putting something on him like chocolate syrup or whipped cream, but lemons?' he mused. (Hana: Maybe I should call you the Kinky Kitsune from now on. Ru: Don't you know it. :smirk:)

"Baka Kitsune! Are you skimping on the juice? SQUEEZE HARDER!" hollered Sakuragi into Rukawa's ear.

Rukawa stopped short. "Squeeze…harder?" he repeated. A plethora of hentai images flooded his head. 'Damn double entendres. And stupid hormones.' He gritted his teeth. "Do'aho. Stop moving so much then." Hanamichi scowled, but complied nonetheless. Then Rukawa spoke again.

"We should look under your shorts if there are any more leeches in there." He looked at Hanamichi hopefully.

"Waah! Hentai Kitsune!" yelled Hanamichi, running away from Rukawa.

Sendoh was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "He's right. They tend to go to unexpected places," he said. "Want me to help you Hiro-kun?" It earned him another bonk in the head. "Ow! Guess not then."

Sakuragi and Mitsui then proceeded to pulverize the leeches with a great deal of viciousness than necessary.

"Guys, stop, they're only innocent worms. Not like they slapped your mothers or anything," said Sendoh, a little upset at the mini-killing spree the two Shohoku players were doing.

"Screw that. Better them than us!" Mitsui continued stomping.

"You fiends! You dare suck on the Tensai? Die! DIE!" exclaimed Hanamichi, trampling on the leeches with renewed fervor.

'That sounded so wrong,' snickered Rukawa quietly. He watched as the redhead continued his rampage, leaving a bloody mess in his wake.

"I don't even want to know why you have lemons in your pockets," muttered Koshino.

"Lemons are so useful! Prevents scurvy too," replied Sendoh. He looked at his best friend, and noted he was bleeding a little. He frowned. "We should go back and put some antiseptic in those bites. I promise I'll help you find a signal tomorrow," he said, hoping to cheer Koshino up. The small forward smiled a bit.

"Damn island. We got chased by sharks and now this…" swore Mitsui under his breath. So much for the romantic confession he planned.

* * *

_Late afternoon…_

"So how was your trip at the falls?" asked Hanagata. They were now back at their campsite.

"It was…interesting." The ace of Ryonan said, getting his first-aid kit.

The tall Shoyo player raised an eyebrow. All of them (save for Sendoh and Kogure), looked like they just had the worst experience of their life. The vice-captain whispered something. Hanagata winced. "At least you guys know now not to sit in shallow, shaded areas. Leeches love to hang out in there," he said. Mitsui, Koshino and Sakuragi gave him dirty looks.

"Thank you for pointing that out. You're a real benefit to have," said Koshino dryly.

"No prob," said Hanagata, grinning.

Rukawa was helping Hanamichi with the wounds on his back. Thankfully his hormones weren't acting up again, much to his relief. He tried to strike a conversation with the redhead.

"Are you alright now? You were going nuts back there." 'Shoot, that didn't come out right,' he thought, mentally kicking himself.

"You're just smug because those things weren't sucking the life out of you," growled Hanamichi, embarrassed that Rukawa saw his little display of weakness.

"Do'aho. You just jumped to a pool without looking into it first. That was a very dumb thing to do," retorted Rukawa. That riled Hanamichi up. "I just don't want you getting hurt," he said softly, not wanting the redhead to be angry at him.

Hanamichi blushed at the latter comment, but quickly composed himself. "Why do you care anyway?" he mumbled. Rukawa didn't answer and continued his work.

"I'm done," said Rukawa. His voice was strangely hollow.

"Erm, thanks. I think," murmured Hanamichi. Rukawa just shrugged and went inside their tent without another word.

* * *

_Nighttime…_

Mitsui couldn't sleep. He was so ready to pour his heart out that morning, but after that disastrous leech and lighter episode he began to doubt himself.

He gazed at the sleeping figure beside him longingly. Just being with Kogure made him feel contented. There was something about the vice-captain that gave him a sense of peace. Kami knows how chaotic his life was before he joined the basketball team again.

'What if he doesn't feel the same way?' he pondered, feeling a wave of hopelessness wash over him. He shook his head and went outside their tent. Maybe Sendoh or Ayako could help clear up his muddled brain. But instead he found only the redhead, looking dispirited as he was.

"Hey Sakuragi. Having Kitsune problems again?" he joked.

"Piss off Missy. I'm trying to think here," said Hanamichi, annoyed.

Mitsui sat down beside the redhead. "Oh? What about?"

Hanamichi tried to keep his mouth shut, but failed. "I think Kitsune likes me," he blurted out.

"Glad you've finally seen the light," snorted the three-pointer. "Honestly, if I was Rukawa I would've given up already. You're just so incredibly dense. I almost feel sorry for the guy."

"Teme!" came the indignant reply.

"Are you afraid of liking him back then?" Mitsui asked, mildly curious. 'Woah is it me, or am I turning into a love doctor? Damn it, I should be the one getting help here!' he mused.

"I'm just new to this kind of stuff. I never had a guy having the hots for me before," said Hanamichi.

"Or anyone for that matter," added Mitsui cheekily.

The redhead glared at him and sighed, looking so forlorn. Mitsui pitied him.

"Ok I'll be serious. You've been dumped by a lot of girls right? You think after the 50th rejection you'd get the hint. Rukawa, a guy, likes you. And I know you like him too," he help up a hand to stop Sakuragi from protesting.

"Look at me Hanamichi. I've been in limbo for two years. I pushed away the person that mattered to me the most, and it's the worst feeling in the world. If you know someone cares for you and you feel the same way, just go for it. Don't make the same mistake that I did," said Mitsui, looking grave. Hanamichi was speechless for once.

Mitsui got up and dusted off.

"Missy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

The three-pointer gave a small smile, and walked back to his tent.

He was surprised when he found Kogure sitting outside, trying hard to stay awake.

"Where did you go? I was worried," yawned the vice captain.

Mitsui shrugged. "I just went for a little walk," he said softly.

"You were saying something at the falls. Do you want to talk about it?" The vice-captain looked at the three-pointer expectantly.

Mitsui wanted to say a lot of things that moment. He had been rehearsing his lines over and over for days now, but only two words came out.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" said Kogure, bewildered. "About that lighter? That was all my fault. I should've have known you were touchy about that subject."

"No! For everything…," Mitsui stuttered. He ran a hand over his hair nervously. "I'm really not a good friend. I put you through all that crap, and I almost destroyed the team. I made you worry a lot, and I know being sorry doesn't cut it for all the horrible things I've done. But I'll make it up to you," he said earnestly.

Kogure gave the three-pointer a penetrating gaze. "It doesn't matter. Everyone has forgiven you," he paused when he saw the uncertainty in Mitsui's expression. He sighed.

"I loved you since freshman year and I never stopped, even after all that happened between us. When are you ever going to forgive yourself Hisashi? What can I do to make you see that?" he murmured.

Mitsui shook his head sadly. "I don't think I can ever forgive myself Kiminobu."

Kogure touched the former gangster's face, caressing him with such gentleness as if he was the most fragile porcelain. Mitsui's breath hitched.

"Then I'll help you pick up the pieces. Let me put you back together again," said the vice-captain tenderly. He wiped away the tears Mitsui didn't know were already falling.

That night, Mitsui didn't feel like he was in limbo anymore.

* * *

To be continued...

For all the Mitsui fans, I'm sorry if I made him cry here. But after all he went through; he deserves to have a good bawl. In my opinion, out of all the couples in the yaoi-universe of Slam Dunk, Kogure and Mitsui have the most issues. That's why they're so perfect for each other…

As for the leeches, I've encountered them once, and believe me you'd be lucky if don't meet any of those little buggers in your lifetime. You'd be scarred for life. Heehee.

Please REVIEW!


	12. Chapter 12: Day 5: Souvenir

Chapter 12: Souvenir

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Takehiko Inoue.

Warning: More angst than you can shake a stick at. Plus blood and gore. Just kidding.

Thank you for all those who reviewed! Namely mariesolsd, Dazed Dreamer, de orga, chibi-ginia, zagato, anime-luverjc, mooty, and kaehana9.

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

Camp Wahoo

6 years ago

Koshino was lying in a tent, sleeping peacefully with Sendoh beside him. They were on another Boy Scout trip, a ruse, Koshino suspected, by his parents to have a vacation themselves. They're probably at the other side of the world right now, sipping cocktails and sunning themselves, but he didn't mind. As long as his best friend was here, he was content to commune with nature.

He didn't notice something had entered their tent, and it was slowly creeping up their cots.

Koshino felt a slight pressure in his chest. He thought Sendoh's head must be on him again, and opened his eyes to shove him off.

What he saw, in his young, 10-year old brain, was the ugliest and scariest thing he had ever seen. It was Godzilla himself, peering down on him, his forked tongue inches away from his face. He screamed.

Sendoh immediately woke up. Seeing the scaly reptile, he calmly scooped it up and walked a few meters outside the tent and let it go. He found Koshino shaking in a corner. Sendoh sat beside his best friend and gave him a hug. "It's alright. The lizard is gone; the little guy probably thought there is food here," he said softly.

"What do you mean little? It was huge! What if it comes back?" asks Koshino, sniffling a bit.

"I promise I'll protect you. Now go back to sleep," said Sendoh. Koshino obeyed, still clutching Sendoh's hand as if it was his lifeline.

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Koshino woke up and bolted upright. All sleep gone from his system, Koshino settled to muse in the dark. His old fear of lizards came back to him, and he was determined not to let those buggers catch him off guard again. After being attacked by sharks and leeches, he was on a brink of a nervous breakdown. And now this.

The dream hit him like a ton of bricks. It was a long time ago…and he tried so hard to forget.

'Stupid lizard and stupid Akira. Why did you have to make that stupid promise anyway?' he seethed. His mild infatuation with Sendoh a few years ago has turned into this full-blown _something else. _He didn't like it one bit.

Koshino closed his eyes, trying to imagine that he is in his room, lying in his bed. But his mind kept on replaying that fateful night, remembering the time when things weren't so complicated with his best friend. "Kami, why did I fall in love with him? Of all people?" he whispered to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, the certain Ryonan player that was the cause of so much angst was out by the seaside, apparently also suffering from insomnia. He didn't notice Rukawa walk up to him.

"Aren't you a bit old for sandcastles?"

Sendoh looked up, surprise registering in his features. "I thought I'd never see the day when you're the one initiating a conversation," he said, highly amused.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Hmm? Oh this. I find building sandcastles soothing. A Zen-like experience," replied Sendoh, while sprinkling the mini-infrastructure with water. "Why are you still awake? Having trouble with Hanamichi again?"

Rukawa shrugged, telling nothing and everything at the same time. Sendoh gave him a sympathetic smile. Both were quiet for a while, Sendoh very much engrossed in his work.

"Why do you build it close to the water? You know the high tide will wash it away later. What's the point?" Rukawa wondered out loud.

Sendoh paused from his work and thought for a while. "It is common sense you build sandcastles near the water since it makes it more stable and compact. Come to think of it, it is kind of paradoxical to do so, since the element that makes it stronger also will eventually destroy it. As for your second question, which from your tone suggests it has nothing to do with sandcastles, I'd say you should ask Hanagata since he's the philosophical type. But in my opinion, everything has a point. Life may seem contradictory, like what I am doing now. If our existence didn't have any chinks and inconsistencies, then it wouldn't be as interesting would it?"

Rukawa almost cracked a smile at Sendoh's highfaluted explanation. "I only asked a hypothetical question," he pointed out.

"Therefore you get a hypothetical answer," replied Sendoh. He chuckled. "I'm sorry. It's late and I tend to get weird when I lack sleep. I'm feeling kind of surreal right now. Here I am on deserted island, building a sandcastle in the wee hours of the morning, while discussing the meaning of life with my supposed nemesis in basketball. This is like an episode from the Twilight Zone or something."

"And I can't believe I'm talking to you, of all people," snorted Rukawa. "I must be really desperate."

Sendoh laughed. "You're here because you have the same problem as I do," he said, looking at Rukawa in the eye.

Rukawa looked away. He didn't want to admit it, but Sendoh makes him uncomfortable sometimes. The guy is just too perceptive, to the point that it seems like he is reading his mind.

"Well I wish I could help, but I'm also stumped for answers," said Sendoh, while putting the finishing touches in his sandcastle. It was pretty impressive; it had turrets, a drawbridge, and even a shallow moat. He got up and admired his handiwork. "Then again, there are some things you have to figure out for yourself," he added, clapping the younger boy in the back.

"I'm going to sleep. I suggest you do the same," yawned Sendoh, walking towards his tent.

Rukawa ignored Sendoh's advice and stayed up all night, watching the sandcastle as it was slowly reclaimed by the sea.

* * *

_A few hours later…_

Koshino had a mission. Find a cellphone signal and get the hell out of this island, as far away from Sendoh as possible.

He finished his breakfast quickly and tried to sneak into the jungle alone. Unfortunately, Fujima spotted him.

"You know the rules. You need to have a partner with you at all times," reasoned the Shoyo captain.

Koshino glared at him. "I think I'm capable enough to find my way back, thank you very much."

"I'll ask Sendoh to come with you," said Fujima sweetly. Aside from matchmaking Sakuragi and Rukawa, Fujima had also set his sights on pairing Sendoh and Koshino too.

Koshino groaned. Fujima could be really evil sometimes. "Kami, don't pull that matchmaking stunt with me. It's only funny when you do it to Sakuragi and Rukawa," he groused.

The two then proceeded to have a monumental battle of wills, trying to out-stare each other. Koshino was the first one to blink. Fujima gave him a smug grin.

"Whatever. While you're at it, ask the two bakas along. I don't care," spat Koshino. He stomped off.

"Good luck in finding a signal," called out the Shoyo captain, after Koshino's retreating figure.

_15 minutes later…_

"Looks like Shorty is in a bad mood again," observed Sakuragi as they were walking along the jungle.

Sendoh frowned. The redhead was right, something was obviously vexing his best friend. "Hiro-kun, you seem to be quiet today. Is anything wrong?" he said, jogging to catch up with the shorter boy. Koshino grunted in response.

He tried again. "Maybe we should try up that hill. There's bound to be a signal there," Sendoh suggested.

"Ok," shrugged Koshino, changing directions. A while later they heard Sakuragi yelling at them to stop.

"What is it now?" said Koshino huffily, walking towards the prone redhead.

"What does it look like?" growled Sakuragi, holding his skinned knee. "You guys are sprinting around like a pair of gazelles, walking too damn fast."

"It's not our fault you walk too slow," zinged Koshino.

Hanamichi stood up in his full height, dwarfing Koshino. "What the hell is up with you anyway? Do you think I like tramping around in the woods?" he said, his anger rising.

"Do I look like I'm having fun? I'm just trying to get out of this stupid place!" shouted Koshino. He stepped towards Sakuragi menacingly. Even though the redhead was a full head taller than he was and can easily pound him to a pulp, Koshino wasn't the kind to let anybody push him around.

Seeing the situation was starting to get ugly, Sendoh stepped in between the two just in case Koshino tries to punch the redhead.

"Hanamichi, you really should take care of your wound first," said Rukawa all of a sudden. They all stared at him.

Rukawa raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Did you just call me Hanamichi? What happened to do'aho?" said Sakuragi, his desire to headbutt Koshino gone in an instant.

Rukawa just looked at the redhead, saying nothing.

"This is getting too weird," muttered Sakuragi, blushing a little.

"Are we going up this hill or what?" cut in Koshino impatiently.

"Yeah yeah keep your shirt on," snapped Sakuragi.

They climbed for a good 10 minutes. The hill wasn't that high; but the way up was steep and full of slippery moss. At the top they were afforded with a spectacular view of the whole island. Sendoh spotted their camp below and saw Jin and Miyagi waving at them. He, Sakuragi, and Rukawa waved back. Koshino was too busy trying to find a signal to notice.

Sakuragi was sat down, admiring the view. He didn't detect Rukawa joining him, looking at his bloody knee.

"Do you want me to patch you up again?" he asked.

Sakuragi jumped. Before he could say anything, Rukawa was already applying iodine on it.

"Ow! Teme Kitsune, are you trying to kill me?" hissed Sakuragi. He tried to get away, but Rukawa's firm hand around his knee prevented him from doing so.

"Do'aho. It's not supposed to hurt. It isn't even that deep," argued Rukawa.

"Stop it. Really it hurts!" whined the redhead.

"For a gangster your threshold for pain isn't very high," retorted Rukawa.

Hanamichi was at loss for words, but recovered quickly. "Oh yeah? Well you make one lousy doctor," he shot back.

Rukawa retaliated by pressing down hard on the cut. Sakuragi's howl was heard all over the island.

"What was that? Sounds like a wounded wolf," commented Kiyota.

"More like a coyote," countered Hanagata.

"What's the difference?" said Ayako.

"A coyote has a higher pitch," explained the tall Shoyo player.

"You're both wrong, that's just Hanamichi," grinned Mitsui. They all laughed their heads off.

"ITAI! You did that on purpose!" bellowed Sakuragi.

"So what if I did?" replied Rukawa coolly.

Sakuragi started to strangle the pale boy.

Sendoh observed the two, highly amused. "Funny how Hanamichi can make Kaede talk so much," he said conversationally.

Koshino was also watching the two, a frown gracing his features. 'Why does this look so familiar?' he thought.

"I remember when we were Boy Scouts you keep getting boo-boos and I was always the one to fix you up," said Sendoh, as if reading his mind. The two Shohoku players were still going at it. "Sans the bickering that is," he added.

Koshino blushed. "That was a long time ago," he mumbled.

"Yes it was," Sendoh said wistfully.

Koshino started to walk around again, signaling the end of the conversation. Sendoh sighed.

* * *

_An hour passed…then another…._

"Can we go now? We've been here for ages," complained Sakuragi, looking pissed.

Koshino ignored him, still looking for a signal.

"We should leave, it looks like it's going to rain," said Rukawa, pointing to the dark clouds gathering in the horizon.

Seeing his best friend was not going to come down to earth soon, "You guys go ahead. Tell Fujima we'll be back before lunch," said Sendoh.

The two left, eager to get back to camp.

Sendoh sat beside his best friend. "Still no luck huh?"

Koshino shook his head, very much disappointed.

"I'm sure they are looking for us Hiro-kun. We just have to be patient, that's all." Seeing Koshino still depressed, he dug into his pockets.

"Here, I thought you might like it," Sendoh said, handing him a small conch shell. It had the same shade of purple as the ace of Ryonan's eyes.

Koshino held it reverently, examining its every detail. He smiled for the first time that day. "It's beautiful. Thank you Akira."

"I used to give you pressed leaves, odd-shaped stones, and other knickknacks when we were kids. Do you still have those?" grinned Sendoh.

"Yes, I still have all of it," replied Koshino. "They're all in a shoebox under my bed," he muttered under his breath.

"And I thought you threw them away. All just a bunch of junk really," laughed Sendoh.

"They're not. I like all of them."

"Oh."

Both didn't say anything for a while. Then it started to rain. Hard.

Koshino and Sendoh ran toward the grove of banana trees. It didn't give them much protection; after only a few minutes they were completely drenched.

"Maybe we should go back to camp," said Koshino. He hated being wet.

"No we should wait it out. We'll probably break our necks if we go down now," said Sendoh. "Sorry Hiro-kun."

"What are you apologizing for? I'm the one who got us into this mess," Koshino said. He put his head in his arms, feeling like a complete idiot. He looked at the object in his hand. It beeped back at him forlornly. "I'm sorry if I wrecked your phone."

"That's ok. I can get another one," assured Sendoh. He pushed his hair away from his eyes, the gel holding it up long gone. It kept slipping back, and he had to flip it every 5 seconds.

Koshino can't help but snicker. "You really should just cut your hair Akira. Just think of how much you can save from styling gel alone."

"And look just like everybody else? Are you kidding?" joked Sendoh. Koshino laughed.

"Glad you're back to your old self again," said Sendoh softly. "What a day huh?"

"Sorry if I was being a jerk. I just want to go home so bad," said Koshino. He wished so much that the rain would stop. He turned his attention to the little shell, trying not to look at Sendoh.

"You don't like being around me anymore do you?" Sendoh said, his perpetual smile gone.

Koshino looked up, surprised. "What gave you that idea?" he spluttered.

Sendoh shrugged, trying to give an air of indifference but failed miserably. "I dunno. You seem to be avoiding me for the past few months. We don't hang around that much either," he said in a small voice.

"I've been busy with school…and stuff," finished Koshino lamely.

Sendoh gave a hollow laugh. "And you used to be honest with me too."

Koshino wanted nothing more than to run away from Sendoh that moment. But he was too tired, too wet, too frustrated to avoid it any longer. He'd rather be stuck in this island forever than see the hurt he caused upon his best friend.

He weighed his words carefully, knowing fully well that their friendship hung in the balance. "It's not that," murmured Koshino. He took a deep breath. To hell with his pride.

"I love being with you so much, that it scares me," he said finally.

Sendoh just looked at him, not daring to believe it. Koshino wasn't the type of person who confesses his feelings outright. Then he smiled, the special smile reserved only for Koshino. The smaller boy can't help but blush furiously.

"Look it stopped raining. We should go back, the others must be worried," babbled Koshino, getting up. The goofy look in Sendoh's face was starting to bother him.

Sendoh pouted. "Come on Hiro-kun, don't ruin the moment." He opened his arms, waiting for a hug, looking at his best friend expectantly.

"No. You're insane," Koshino said, trying to keep a straight face.

Sendoh hugged him anyway, not letting go. Even though they were on top of a hill on a deserted island, dripping wet, Koshino couldn't ask for anything better.

* * *

To be continued...

Kaede and Hanamichi are next! Yay!

PLEASE REVIEW!


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